True Bliss
by Laurie Broden
Summary: Lily finds herself getting along with the Marauders over Christmas break, but then remembers why she hated them in the first place. James becomes helpless and is about to give up hope when something very unexpected happens...Chapter ELEVEN now up!
1. Christmas

A/N: Feedback is needed. Please, please, pleeeaaase read and review! I am also totally open to suggestions. Now, let the story begin:  
  
Chapter One  
  
"Get UP, Lily!" Lily slowly opened an eye and found herself staring into Clare's bright blue eyes.

"Five more minutes."

"NO! It's Christmas morning and I am NOT opening my gifts without you!" Clare pushed her straight brown hair behind her ears and shook Lily.

"I'm changing roommates first thing this afternoon." Lily muttered and rolled onto her side so her back was facing Clare.

Clare sighed deeply. "There's only one thing to do at a time like this...."  
  
Lily caught on. "Clare, no. Please, I'm so tired, please, don't deprive me of the only sleep I-" Clare threw the covers off Lily. She instantly felt cold.

Lily sat up and pulled a sweater over her head. She looked up at Clare who was standing with her arms folded and her foot tapping.

Lily's eyes widened and she pointed to the window, "Look, someone's wrote to you!"  
  
Just as Clare looked at the window, Lily dived in Clare's bed and snuggled up in the blankets.

Clare, realizing she'd been tricked, sigh deeply again. "Lily!" she whined, "It's Christmas morning! Where's your Christmas spirit?"

"It's hiding in a cave so no one can find it while being eaten by bats." Lily muttered, half asleep.

Clare cringed; she hated bats.  
  
"Fine, I'll open the presents without you." Clare sat one the floor cross- legged and sniffed loudly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Lily rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump.

"Ow, that was painful," Lily said and crawled over to her own pile of gifts.  
  
Clare rolled her eyes and read the card from her parents. When she finished it, she looked up a Lily, who was struggling to open up her gift.

Clare giggled and Lily turned to glare at her. "It's the wrapping paper, it doesn't seem to want to get off!" Lily said while deperatly trying to tear the wrapping paper.  
  
"It's the present from hell!" Lily said and snatched the card off the box. Her green eyes grew wide. "It's the present from YOU!"

Clare threw back her head and laughed evilly. "What have you done to this damn present!"

"It's bewitched so YOU can't open it."  
  
Lily stared at Clare. "Then how the hell am I going to open it?"

Clare let out an exasperated sigh and took the present from Lily. Clare prodded it with her finger and said, "Ok, you can open up now, I've had my fun." The silver wrapping instantly loosened and fell off.

Lily snatched the gift from Clare.  
  
Inside was another box. And inside that box was another box. "You have serious issues with wrapping presents, Clare." Clare shrugged and watched as Lily finally got to the last box.

Lily held up the last box over her head. "Behold!" Lily said in a loud voice, "The present!" Lily opened the box a shreiked.

Lily ran to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, holding the box with great care.  
  
Clare chuckled. When Lily came out, she was wearing a beautiful necklace with an emerald 'L' as a charm on it. The next thing Clare knew, her face was filled with silky, dark, red-hair.

"Clare, I love you! Thank you so much! I love it! I love YOU!" "Agh! Ok, you're welcome! Gerroff me!" Lily broke away from the hug and laughed. "Sorry, Mini." "Don't call me Mini." Lily grinned, "Your just so damn short, Clare!" Clare glared at Lily.

Lily held out a tiny box wrapped in royal blue wrapping paper. Clare opened it and let out a shreik that matched perfectly with Lily's.  
  
It was Lily's turn to have a face full of hair. "Oh, I love it! How can I ever repay you?! You are truly my best friend! Well, other then Tereesa..."

"Yeah, Yeah, I know." Lily said, grinning and pulling away. Lily Gave Clare a charm bracelet with a sapphire 'C' charm.  
  
"They both have letter charms on them!" Clare said, holding her bracelet up to the necklace around Lily's neck. "Great minds think alike." Lily said and winked at Clare.

"Are you saying your mind is great, Lily?" a voice said behind them. They turned around and saw Tereesa standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Tereesa," Clare said, motioning for her to sit down with them.  
  
Tereesa was tall, unlike Clare and Lily. Lily wasn't too short, but Clare was three inches shorter the Lily, and Lily never let Clare hear the end of it. Tereesa beautiful eyes and hair.

All three of them did. Tereesa had brown eyes and long, wavy, blonde hair.

Clare had bright blue eyes and very straight, elbow length, dark brown hair.

Lily had emerald green eyes and hair similar to Clares, except it was a wonderful shade of red.  
  
Tereesa took a seat by her pile of presents so the three best freinds formed a circle. "Because if you're saying your mind is great, I'd have to disagree." Tereesa said playfully.

"That hurt." Lily replied while opening another present. Tereesa laughed and handed Clare and Lily presents.

"Merry Christmas, guys."

"That was NOT funny!" Remus said, drying his sandy colored hair with a towel. James and Sirius were having fits of laughter on the couch.

"Isn't it amusing seeing Remus scream like a girl when someone pours cold water on him while he's sleeping?" James asked Sirius,

"Oh, yes, very." Sirius was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Remus threw the towel he was using at Sirius.  
  
"I rather spend my Christmas doing something that doen't include 'Be Prank Victim' on the day to day scheduale."

"But who else will take Snivellus' place during the holidays?" Remus glared at James, "Not one of your mates!"

Sirius nodded, "Yes, good point. Any other suggestions?"

he looked at James and Remus, "How about the girls?" James asked hopefully.

"Prongs, you just want to get close to Evans."

"That's not true!" Remus rolled his eyes and picked up his book to read.

"Well, Moony, have you got any better ideas?"

"No." Remus replied. Sirius snorted.

"Let's go outside, I bet we can find _something_ to do." Sirius said, and James grinned.


	2. Snowball Fight

A/N: Please note that none of these characters are mine, but J. K. Rowling's (As you probably know) except for Tereesa and Clare. Sorry to keep you waiting, I know how much you want to read my story ;)  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"You know, I'm surprised that James didn't give you a Christmas present." Tereesa said after she, Lily, and Clare had finished opening all their gifts.

"You know, I'm surprised you were bold enough to say that." Lily said, hugging her knees to her chest, deep in thought.  
  
"Oh, Lily, come off it. He's smart, funny, charming, althetic, and very cute. What's there not to like?"

"He's too obsessive, egotistic, self-centered, selfish, idiotic, stupid, dumb, moronic, obno-"

"Alright, alright!" Clare interupted,putting her hands in the air as if to say she surrendered.

"If you think he's so perfect, why don't _you_ go out with him?" Clare sighed. "It's you he likes, not me." Lily stood up and looked out the window.  
  
"What are those stupid prats doing outside playing quidditch when it's below zero degrees and it's snowing?" Lily asked and turned to her friends.

But instead of frowning in disapproval, she was grinning. "Oh no, what does Lily have in for us this time?" Clare said playfully, rolling her eyes.

"I say we pay the great 'Marauders' a little visit." Lily grinned evily.

"All right, we'll play that monkey-muggle game, only on broomsticks."

"You mean Monkey-in-the-middle?"

"That's the one! Alright, I say James starts in the middle." Sirius said.

"Hey! Fine, I vote Padfoot gets sent in the middle." they both looked at Remus for support.

"Sorry, Prongs." Remus said, grinning.  
  
"Mind if we join you?" Said a voice behind them.

James, Remus, and Sirius turned to see who talked. Just as they turned, three snowballs came hurtiling towards them.

One hit James in the face, and the other two hit Remus and Sirius in the chest. "Nice aim, Lily." Tereesa comented.

"Thanks, Terry, not too bad yourself." Lily said, dusting off her gloves.  
  
"Not you...." Sirius groaned.

"Yes, us." Clare said, grinning evily before kicking off on her broom and circling above them.

"Your worst fears have been confirmed." Tereesa said before she too, kicked off on the ground.

"Damn Chasers...." James muttered.

"James, watch out!" But Sirius was too late, James was hit in the head by to more snowballs. Lily walked up to James.

"That was for insulting us Chasers, when the seeker is the _real_ problem." And with that, she kicked off the ground to join her freinds.

All three of them started aiming hexes towards the Marauders, who dodged the curses, and mounted their brooms.  
  
"Ready or not, here we come." Sirius grinned and chased after Lily. Lily shreiked and flew away, Sirius following close behind.

Sirius stretched out a hand. He almost got her, just an inch more.... WHAM! Lily dived, causing the end of her broom to hit Sirius square in the face.

Lily joined her freinds in hysterical laughter.

"Why you twisted little...."

"Sirius, please, let the _master_ handle it." James said, holding his arm out in front of Sirius to prevent him from knocking Lily off her broom.

When James said 'master' he pretended to be holding out a mirror in front of him and combed his hair with an imaginary comb. Even Lily had to laugh.

"Thank you." James said bowing, and nearly falling off his broom. The laughter grew louder and he felt himself go red.  
  
Lily looked at James. _'Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...HA! I will _never_ have feelings for him_.' Lily thought to herself. '_Never say never_.' said a voice in the back of Lily's mind.

'_Agh! Just shut up, Lily, you're confusing yourself-_' but Lily was instantly out of her reverie when she saw, to her horror, that James just caught her staring at him.

Lily blushed and turned away. "Let's go now." Lily muttered to Tereesa and Clare. "Aww! But I'm having such a good time!" Clare whined.

"Isn't Sirius _handsome_?" Tereesa thought out loud. Lily laughed. "I know, guys, I'm sorry, but let's just go. I'm feeling...er...bored." Lily lied. 'Embarassed is more like it.' she thought.  
  
Tereesa saw the pleading look in Lily's eyes. "Alright, c'mon, Clare. Oh, stop drooling!" Tereesa said, noticing Clare had been checking Remus out.

"Thank you, guys." Lily whispered and gave a fake shiver. "Damn, it's cooooold. I'm going in, bye Marauders, it was nice beating the shit out of you." Lily said and dived toward the ground closely followed by Clare and Tereesa.  
  
"What was that all about?" Tereesa asked Lily. Clare was walking ahead of them, keeping a brisk pace. Lily looked at Tereesa. "You know I trust you, right?" Lily asked Tereesa.

"Um..yeah...." Tereesa said. Lily lowered her voice. "Even more then Clare, right?" Tereesa nodded. "Lily, I know I'm your best friend, and you're mine, but would you hurry up and get to the point?" Lily looked at the snow.

"It's just that...your fly is open." Lily said in a sorrowful voice. "Made you look!" Lily said and howled with laughter. Tereesa, clearly not thinking Lily's joke was funny, glared at her freind.  
  
Lily looked at Tereesa and stopped laughing immediatly. "Tereesa, if there was something I needed to tell you, I would have already told you. I was just a bit too cold, that's why I left. Plus, those Marauders are B-O-R-I-N-G!" Lily said. Tereesa laughed.  
  
"Lily, your such a damn good actor, I never know when you're joking or not!" Tereesa said.

Lily playfully hit Tereesa's arm.

Just then something hit Lily hard on the back. Lily turned around and saw James, Sirius, and Remus having fits of laughter.

James nudged Sirius. Sirius followed James gaze and saw the girls leaving.

"Oy! Moony!"

"Yeah?"

"You have good aim, right?"

"I think I know where this conversation is going...," Remus replied with a grin.

The Marauders quickly and quietly followed the girls to the entrance, Remus had a snowball in hand.

Finally, they were close enough to put their plan into action.

"Fire!" James whispered.

Remus threw the snowball directly at Lily's back.

Lily turned around abruptly and narrowed her eyes at Remus.  
  
"Nobody get away with throwing a snowball at Lily Evans without payback! NOBODY!" Lily was chasing Remus around the snow-covered lawn.  
  
"Damn, Lily, where'd you get so fast?" Lily stopped and looked at Sirius. "Actually, Sirius, I picked it up from-Ouch!" Remus seized the opportunity to trow another snowball at Lily.

"Oouh! Remus is in for it now!" But Remus didn't need Clare to tell him that, he could see the fire in Lily's eyes.

"LUPIN! YOU TWISTED, UGLY, STUPID, OBNOXIOUS, SELFISH, BASTARD!" Lily yelled while pelting Remus with snowballs.

"Damn, Lily, where'd you get such good aim?" James asked, amazed at how each time she threw the snowballs, it hit Remus.  
  
"Pure talent." She said, while dropping the snow in her hands and chasing Remus once more. Remus was so tired he collapsed on the snow.

Lily came right up to Remus and sat on his chest while he lay down. "Damnit, Evans, you're heavy!"

Lily sniffed loudly and threw another snowball at his face. "Thanks a lot, now I'm all wet!"

-------------  
  
A/N Just thought I'd end it there...you know...anyways, more love is on the way, don't worry. And remember the Golden Rule: _**Reveiw!**_


	3. Exploding Snap

A/N Sorry, sorry, sorry, and sorry! The last two chapters were...heh...what you can call S-H-O-R-T! This one will be long, don't worry ;)

Chapter Three  
  
Lily went inside with the Marauders and her freinds. "Lily, if you don't mind me saying so, you're kind of scary when you're mad." Sirius said, grinning.

Lily shrugged. "Just don't get me mad and we're all better off." she threw a glance at Remus.  
  
They reached the portrait before long. "I can't wait to take a nice, long, shower." Tereesa said, smiling to herself.

"Me neither. You'll just have to wait because I'm taking it before you." Tereesa and Lily stared at eachother before bounding up the stairs.

Clare shook her head and laughed, "They don't act like their sixteen, more like eight. Well, I should go, too. Merry Christmas, you guys. Bye, Remus." she smiled at Remus before following Lily and Tereesa.

Remus blushed.  
  
"Look at Moony's face. He looks like a strawberry." James muttered to Sirius.

"Let's go." Remus said rather loudly, "I'm still wet from Lily."  
  
The Marauders went up to their dormatory. Sirius and James waited for Remus to get out of the shower.

"What if Lily changed her mind about me? I mean, why else would she come out and play Quidditch with us?" James asked and Sirius shook his head.

"No, no, no, Prongs, you have it all wrong! _I'm _the good looking one here, they came down to see _me_!"

At this point, James started throwing pillows and books at Sirius, "I mean, I am so damn handsome, they just can't resist." Sirius grinned.

James laughed, "She's not that kind of girl. She doesn't go out with people just because they are handsome!"

"You're obsessed with her! You know every little detail about her!" Sirius said.

"I'm not obsessed...I just want her to give me a chance."

Sirius didn't say anthing.  
  
"Prongs, you can use the shower now, I'm finished." Remus came out of the bathroom with a towel tied around his waist.

James nodded and went in the bathroom.

"I'm going to go read in the common room." Sirius said, and picked up a book a left.

"Remus was so cute when Lily was chasing him around, don't you think? Poor guy, did you see how wet he was?"

Clare was hugging a pillow and Tereesa was writing in her journal.

"Remus is nothing compared to Sirius. He was gorgeous! I wish I could run as fast as Lily. Did you see how impressed he was when she ran?" Tereesa said, and sighed.

"Remus is cute, Sirius is hot. Now let's please talk about something else before I get a headache." Lily said as if that settled it. She had just come out of the bathroom with wet hair and green pajamas on.

"How did you know what we were talking about? You were in the shower the whole time." Lily walked over to her bed and sat down on it.

"Oh, please, Clare. People who live in _France_ could hear you blabbing on about how cute Remus is."

Clare blushed and hid her face behind a book. Lily brushed her long, wet hair thinking about James and if she liked him or just thought of him as a freind, because even _she_ can't deny that she doesn't _hate_ James.

_'Do I hate James? I mean, the term is pretty harsh. To be completly honest, I don't remember why I ever hated James so much! I mean, yeah, he pranked me quite often, but it was just to get a few laughs, right? I guess if he asked me to, I would forgive him...but I only like him as a friend, but that's only when I'm in a _really _good mood...'_  
  
"Why don't we go down to the common room? It's more comfortable down there." Lily suggested.

"No, I have to stay here and take a shower." Tereesa said while she walked in the bathroom.

Lily looked at Clare. "I'd rather stay here, but you can still go if you want!" Clare said.

She was reading Tereesa's journal.

Lily grinned and mouthed the words _'Tell me what she wrote later!_' to Clare and Clare nodded.

Lily picked up her book and went downstairs.  
  
When Lily got to the bottom of the steps, she saw Sirius sitting on the couch and reading a book.

"Hey Sirius." She said and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Evans. What are you up to?"

"Just reading, unless of course, you have a problem with that."

"What if I have a problem with it?"

"Does it look like I care if you have a problem?"

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Lily and Sirius looked at James, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, James, out of the shower already?"

Lily laughed, "Well, apparantly," she said.

"Thank you Miss Obvious." James said and yawned.  
  
"Care to join us in our reading?"

"Reading? I have never done an ounce of it in my life. Hey, let's play exploding snap." James suggested, sitting next to Lily.

"I have a deck, I'll go get it." Sirius said and left, grinning. Lily started reading and James reached across her and picked up Sirius's book.

They stayed silent for fifteen minutes until Lily threw her book down.

"What is taking him so long! Here I am, reading a book like I'm interested in what the author has to say, when my brain is rotting from boredom!"

Lily stomped up the stairs and knocked on the Marauders door.

James was highly amused.

Sirius answered the door.  
  
"Having a good time?" Lily asked him impaciently with her arms crossed.

"What did I do?" Sirius asked, clearly quite confused.

Lily let out an exasprated sigh and pushed pass him into the dormatory.

Remus was on his bed reading, and on the dresser was an exploding snap card deck.

Lily threw the card deck at Sirius and he caught it.

"Does that refresh your memory?" Lily asked.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot."

"I figured that out already."

"What's the big deal?" Sirius asked.

"I was bored out of my mind. Remus, you can come if you like." Lily said, while pulling Sirius down the stairs by his wrist.

"No thanks, I'd rather not." Remus said, and was obviously very interested in his book.

"Lily, let me at least get a shirt on!" Sirius said halfway down the stair case.

Lily rolled her eyes and released him.

He ran up the stairs and came back with a T-shirt on.

"Ok, go wait over there with James. I'm going to go get Tereesa and Clare."

Lily said and Sirius shrugged.  
  
Lily opened the door a tiny bit and peeked inside and heard shouts.

"Clare! You were reading my journal!"

"Well, Tereesa, how can I resist if it's just laying there, open, waiting for someone to read it!"

"You're supposed to close it and put it on my bed without looking in it at all!"

Lily shut the door quietly and went back downstairs.  
  
"Are they coming?" Sirius asked while shuffling the cards.

"No, they said they were busy." Lily lied and pulled a chair over so she was across from James and Sirius, who were both sitting on the couch.

Sirius dealt the cards and they started playing.

  
  
"HA! I beat you both six times in a row! _Losers_!" Lily stuck her tongue out at James and Sirius just when the cards exploded.

"Nice going, Lily, look what you did to the cards."

"It wasn't my fault!" Lily said defensivly and James started laughing.

"Oh, shut up." Lily said and threw a pillow at him.

"Oh, she's vicious!" Sirius said, and he too, was laughing.

Lily yawned.

"Alright, you guys, I think it's time to call it a night."

Lily said and got up to leave.

"Hey, Lily?" Lily looked at James, "The Marauders and I were going to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, because McGonagall gave us permission and all, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us." James looked hopeful.

"Oh...I don't know..." Lily started, but James interupted her, "You can bring your friends, if you want."

Lily's expressioned brightened.

"I'll think about it..."

"Well, if you decide you want to come, meet us down here at 11:00 o'clock. If you're late, we'll go without you." Sirius said and he also got up.

"Alright, well, goodnight James, Sirius." Lily said, smiling at them as she said their names.

She then went up the stairs and into the dorm.

-------------------  
  
A/N: Hopefully this is long enough! Remember, include suggestions in your reveiws if you have them and also constructive ciritacisim.


	4. Hogsmeade

A/N: Despite my desperate attempts, I could not make the chapters long! This time, I am going to make it REALLY long (Hopefully)  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Lily Walked into her dorm looking tense. "What's wrong, Lil? You look like snape asked you to marry him or something." Tereesa asked.

Lily shook her head, "Worse. James asked me out," Tereesa rolled her eyes, but Lily continued,

"And I didn't reject him."

Lily plopped on her bed thinking hard.

"So, you said yes?" Clare asked hopefully.

Lily glared at her, "No, I said I'd think about it." Lily said slowly and stared at the ceiling.

"Besides, it isn't exactly a date, just a day with the Marauders at Hogsmeade." Tereesa looked like Lily was celebrating a second Christmas without her.

"Wish I could go to Hogsmeade..." Tereesa muttered and sat down on her bed.

"Oh, he invited you two, too. You guys can go without me." Lily said as she picked up her book and started reading.

"C'mon, Lily! It will be fun! You don't have anything to do tomorrow, and if you don't come, you'll de of boredom here withut us!"

Lily knew Clare was right, but she just chose to inore her. "What Clare was trying to say," Tereesa said in a loud voice, "Is get off your lazy ass and come with us to Hogsmeade."

Lily laughed but continued reading.

Tereesa had enough.

She picked up her pillow and thrust it at Lily.

"Oof! Tereesa!"

Lily glared at her friend.

"Look Lily, I don't care what you have to say about it, but you're coming to Hogsmeade with us whether you like it or not."

James and Sirius walked up the stairs to the boys dormatories together. When they entered, Remus looked up from his books.

"Hey guys, who won?"

"Lily beat us six times in a row."

"That's pathetic. I thought you were good at everything, Padfoot. Looks like Lily proved me wrong."

"Shut up."

"What's wrong with Prongs, anyway. He hasn't been talking."

"He just asked Lily out, and now he's praying she'll say yes."

"I did NOT ask her out, I just asked if she wanted to hang out with us."

"You prat, has she ever wanted to hang out with us?"

"Well, recently, she has! Anyway, Padfoot, what do you suppose."

"It's like Moony said."

"And that means..."

"Not a chance. Sorry, Prongs." Sirius said, looking at James sympathetically.

  
  
"Wake up, Lil." Tereesa said, shaking Lily.

Clare was standing by the door, waiting to leave."  
  
"Hurry up and get dressed so we can leave. We don't want to be late." Lily opened her eyes and saw Tereesa's chocolaty brown one's staring back at her.

"I don' wanna." Lily moaned.

Tereesa opened Lily's trunk and pulled out come clothes.

"Put this on and don't complain." Tereesa said in a bossy tone.

"Alright, one minute, Professor McGonagall." Lily said and swung her legs over the side of her bed.

Tereesa looked at the closed curtains and grinned evilly.

"Don't even think about it." Lily said, watching Tereesa walk over to the window.

Tereesa grabbed each side of the curtains like she was about to pull them open.

"Three...two..." Tereesa counted and Lily snatched her things and dove into the bathroom before the bright light shone into the room from the window.

Lily came out of the bathroom five minutes later fully clothed and her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She blinked as the light hit her eyes.

"It burns!" She said and shaded her eyes with her hand.

"Alright," Tereesa said and glanced at her watch, "It's nearly time to leave for Hogsmeade."

"I already told you, I'm not going!" Lily said stubbornly.

"And I already told _you_, you're coming whether you like it or not. Clare, a little help here."

Clare and Tereesa picked Lily up and got her through the door despite her efforts to break free.

They said her down and looked around the common room for the Marauders.

"Look!" Clare said and whispered and pointed to the portrait hole where the Marauders were heading.

Tereesa wasn't about to let them leave.

"Not leaving without us, I hope."

"Not leaving without us, I hope." A girl said.

James stopped in his tracks and hoped against hope that it was Lily who said it.

He turned around and the saw the person he was most eager to see.

The only problem was, she didn't seem so eager to see him.

Sirius's expression brightened.

"We didn't think you'd show up." Sirius said, while watching the three girls descend the steps.

They walked up to the Marauders, but Lily had her arms folded and her expression was deadly.

"Of course we would! Why wouldn't we?" Sirius glanced at Lily, "No reason..." Sirius said and beckoned them to the portrait hole.

"May I escort you?" James said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Lily just glared at him with her arms still crossed.

"Or not..." James said and followed Sirius.

Tereesa stayed back with Lily.

"C'mon Lily, brighten up. You are going to ruin everyone's day if you keep being so sour. They already think we're coming. Imagine how disappointed James will be if you stay behind." Lily's expression softened.

"Alright, let's catch up before Clare realizes we aren't following them and has a heart-attack." Lily said and started running to catch up.

"That's my girl!" Tereesa said and sprinted past her.  
  
"Where were you guys?" Clare asked when they caught up with her.

"We turned the wrong corner. No big deal." Lily said and smiled.

She was a great actress, which meant lieing to her freinds was a daily activity.

Clare eyed them suspiciously. "If you say so..." Clare said.

Lily and Tereesa exchanged relieved glances.  
  
Sooner then she expected, Lily and the others reached Hogsmeade.

"Why don't we all go to Honeydukes?" James asked when he spotted the store.  
  
"Then afterwords, we can go to the new clothing shop that just opened recently." Tereesa said and pointed across the street to a little shop.

The Marauders made faces.

"I never said you had to come!" Tereesa said, staring at the Marauders.

"I'm not really in the mood for shopping, either." Lily said and Tereesa raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Lily asked defensivly.

"Nothing, nothing..." Tereesa said.

She knew Lily loved shopping.

Lily wasn't the girly type that painted her nails and read fashion magazines. She mainly went shopping because she loved surprising people with little gifts. She didn't usually shop for herself.

"Well, why don't Tereesa and I go to the new store, and the rest of you can go to Honeydukes? We can meet over at that table over there." Clare said and pointed to a picnic table outside a little coffee shop down the street.  
  
"Sounds good." Sirius said and shrugged.

The Marauders went inside Honeydukes.

"Lily, are you sure you don't want to come then go with your mortal enemies?" Clare said and grinned. _'Not anymore_.' She thought to herself.

Lily rolled her eyes and fllowed the Marauders.  
  
Lily's eyes widened when she saw Sirius was loading his pockets with sweets. "Sirius! How on earth are you going to afford that?" Lily scolded and walked up to where Sirius was standing.

He looked at Lily and then at his pockets.  
  
"Good point." He said and emtied half of the treats into an empty basket.

Lily rolled her eyes again and looked at the various sweets sitting on the shelfs.

She had never been to Honeydukes before.

She was particularly interested in the fizzing-whizzbees.

"Haven't you been here before?" Lily jumped at the voice behind her.

She turned around and faced James.

"No, actually, I haven't." James looked slightly surprised. "You _have_ to try the levitating-lollies." James said, grinning.

"Oouh! Those sound interesting..." She said and looked around for the shelf they were on.

She was just about to tell James that she thought they ran out of them, but when she turned around she saw James pointing to the shelf above her head.

"Oh, great." She said sarcastically and tried reaching up to where the lollipops were stashed.

She was just about to try to jump up and steal grab one on her way down when she was interrupted.

"Need some help?" James asked, and without wating for and answer, he put his hands on her waist and hoisted her up.

Lily was taken aback and looked down at James.

"Could you please hurry? You're not exactly light..." James asked.

"Oh, sorry!" Lily said and stopped gazing into his hazel eyes.

She fumbled around the shelf and finally got hold of a few brilliant-yellow lollipops.

He lowered her gently onto the ground. "Thanks," she muttered and blushed.  
  
Lily and the Marauders left Honeydukes with Sirius and James argueing.

"You couldn't even pick Lily up for more then five seconds! You are a weakling, and don't try denying it, Prongs,"

_'Apparantly, Siris saw James pick me up..._' Lily thought.

"Your knees were buckling under the weight of a feather." Sirius went on.

"Lily does NOT weigh a feather!" James said, "Besides, you've never picked her up, you wouldn't know."

"True. Lily, come over here." Sirius called over to Lily.

"No way, Sirius, I am not going to let you pick me up." Lily said and noticed Sirius was walking towards her.

"Sirius, get away from me. Sirius!" Sirius broke into a run and Lily shrieked and ran away. She even stopped to hide behind James.

Lily was too fast for him, so Remus grabbed Lily's arm and kept a firm grip and Sirius strided over.

"Remus! How dare you! Let go of me, he's going to pick me up! You know, Sirius, I really am not that light. I'm as heavy as a boulder!" Lily was struggling to get free, but Sirius scooped her up in his arms, with one arm supporting her les and his neck with her arms clasped around it.

"Sirius, put me down right now! You think this is funny? Well, when I et down there I am going to pummel you to the pulp- STOP LAUGHING!"

James and Remus were clutching their stomachs from laughter and Sirius nearly dropped Lily.

"If you're going to carry me, at least be careful!" Lily cried and tightened her grip around Sirius' neck.

"Ouch! Ok, Lily, you're strangling me!" Sirius said and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Like I said," Sirius said, massaging the back of his neck, "light as a feather."

Remus snorted.

  
  
Lily walked to the picnic tables with James walking next to her. Normally, Lily would have hexed James for coming within ten feet of her, but today was an exeption.

She saw in the corner of her eyes that James was watching her. She turned her head and he gave her a small smile, which she returned.

_'I feel so mixed up! Why aren't I slapping James for smiling at me? Why am I letting him walk next to me? But more importantly, why did I start hexing him and being mad at him in the first place? He seems so..._innocent_, I don't know why I even hated him these past five years...Ah, wait a minute. _Now_ I remember.'_ Lily's expression darkened, though James didn't notice.

_'I remember how ever since first year, he humiliated people just because the way they looked, or what house they were in. He would play tormenting pranks on innocent people and he was..._amused_! And I just thouht that he was the innocent one! I can't believe I forgot! I remember what he did to Clare. Why am I still next to him?'_

Lily hurried to the picnic table in front of the Marauders to avoid conversation.

_'He is so cruel. I will never fall for James, and I'll make sure of that_!'

Lily reached the table where Tereesa and Clare sat waiting for her.

She left the Marauders way behind her.

"Why were you walking so fast? You were practically running!" Tereesa said. Lily didn't answer.

"Is there...something you want to talk about?" Clare asked hastily.

"Oh, no. I was just thinking of the past." Lily said in a falsly sweet voice.

"About James?" Clare asked carefully, preparing for the worst.

"No, not about Potter!" Lily spat.

Tereesa and Clare were baffled.

Lily was usually outgoing and cheerful. Only one thing could turn Lily into ice; Torment.

Lily loathed anyone who hurt innocent people; physically or mentally. Tereesa read Lily's mind.

"Look, Lily. People change! He seems so much more mature then he was two years ago! Just give him a chance!" Tereesa pleaded.

"He doesn't deserve a chance. I'm going back to school." Lily said in a dangerously quiet voice.

She brushed past Sirius who had just reached the table.

"Where's she running off to?" Sirius asked Tereesa, wearing a confused expression on his face.

"We...er...had a great time with you guys. Thanks a lot!" Clare said nervously, glancing at her watch.

"Oh, would you look at the time? I really should be going. Oh how time flies when you're having fun!" Clare laughed nervously before turning around and running after Lily.

"You guys haven't even spent time with us! Only Lily has!" Sirius said with a pleading look at Tereesa.

"I'm really sorry, but this is really important. Bye, I'm sorry we couldn't grace you with our presence any longer..." Tereesa gave a weak smile and hurried off after Clare.

James looked at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Let's just hope it isn't anything serious." James looked at the ground.

He couldn't help but feel that it had to do with him.  
  
"Lily, will you wait for me?" Clare asked, breathing heavily as she ran after Lily to the Hogwarts castle.

Lily reached the Hogwarts grounds and collapsed under a tree, weeping. Clare ran up to Lily and kneeled down to Lily's height.

She hugged Lily and quietly whispered comforting things to Lily like "You can tell me anything, I will always be here for you." or "Please stop crying, your smile is what makes the world go 'round!".

Finally, Lily's sobs died down. By now, Tereesa was part of the big hug. Lily released Clare and looked at her.

"I thought he was nice, but then I remembered how much his looks can be d-decieving.

Don't you remember all he's d-done?" Lily asked, whiping away her tears. Tereesa stood up.

"What I'm about to say is harsh. I think you are overreacting. He changed over the years, Lily! I think he changed so much, it's overwhelming you and now you're scared. You want to believe you two are not meant to be together, when you really are!"

Lily looked at Tereesa and burst into tears.

"You know it's true." Tereesa said softly while patting Lily's back gently.

'Go easy on her." Clare hissed at Tereesa.

"No, sh-she's right." Lily said and sniffed.

Clare looked tacken aback. "Does...does that mean you like James?" Clare asked cautiously.

"I d-don't know. Everything is so confusing! One day I hate him and the next I start liking him!" Lily said, sniffing again.

"Let's go back to our dorm before people see you crying. You don't want them to be getting ideas, do you?" Lily smiled weakly and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you, guys, I really appreciate it." Lily said softly while her two best friends lead her into the castle.

"All I have to say is give James a chance. Oh, and one other thing. I don't think I have ever seen you cry before." Tereesa said thoughtfully.

Lily punched Tereesa in the arm playfully.

"And hopefully the last. I don't like people seeing me all puffy and red-eyed." Clare laughed softly and linked her arm with Lily's.

"You guys can be so unpredictable." Clare said and they all chuckled quietly.  
  
-------------  
  
A/N w00t! I got my first review (Thanks, angul gurl) hurray! Hopefully you liked this chapter. I tried to make it believable. -sigh- anyways, please reveiw! It's ok to critisize, but please don't be too harsh.


	5. The 'Date'

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are what keeps me writing!

Chapter five

"I'm surprised that Tereesa's words comforted you. To me, she sounded, well, cruel!" Clare said.

Tereesa, Lily, and she were in their dorm and all were sitting on their beds.

Tereesa shrugged, "Hey, it had to be said. I mean, she was crying because she was thinking of the past. It's understandable if you remember your mother dying or something, but she was just thinking of James!" Tereesa pointed out.

"Hey! How would you know if I was thinking of James?" Lily asked.

Tereesa just stared at Lily.

"Anyway, I think you should go out with James." Tereesa said.

"Tereesa! I'm not even sure I like him that much...but Kyle on the other hand, he's pretty cute..." Lily thought out loud, thinking of a Ravenclaw Chaser.

Clare rolled her eyes, "No, James is the one for you!"

Lily was starting to get aggravated, "Look, you guys can't just choose who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with! I'll go on a date with him to see if I like him, but I highly doubt that I will." Lily walked to the dormitory door and slammed it shut after she walked down the stairs.

Clare felt guilty. "She's right, we were trying to set her up without even knowing if she felt that way about him." Clare said and Tereesa nodded, "I'm going to bed."

#########

Lily walked down the stairs and plopped down on a chair. "Ow! Lily, that hurt!" James' muffled voice came from under Lily.

"Oh! James, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" Lily said while blushing. "It's ok." He said and smiled.

"Did somebody get you mad?" he asked.

"Yeah, Clare and Tereesa. Long story, I don't feel like talking about it." James nodded and Lily sat on the couch across from him.

"So, why did you guys leave so early?" he asked, referring to the Hogsmeade trip.

"Oh, er...well, you see...we, um..." James laughed, "You don't have to tell me, I was just asking."

Lily's expression relaxed, "Ok, cool." She said and smiled.

"May I ask you a question?" Lily asked.

"Of course!"

"Where were you, Sirius, and Remus last week? I was going to glue your dormitory door shut so you couldn't get out, but you three weren't in your beds OR the common rooms. Were you wandering around the school after hours?" Lily said while shaking her finger at him.

"Sorry, classified information. I can't tell you." James said.

Lily pouted. "Fine, I'll just ask Remus. He's the reasonable one, he'll tell me." James laughed.

"That's as likely as you going out with me, which isn't very likely, now is it?" James asked.

"Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking about that topic, and was wondering if you would accompany me to Hogsmeade tomorrow." Lily asked casually.

James' jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm Lily." Lily replied, shaking her head.

"I would love to accompany you!" James said, almost jumping up in joy.

"Ok, cool. Meet me here at noon." Lily said.

"Ok, I'm going to go read now. I'll see you tomorrow." Lily said and left.

###############

"You're kidding!" Sirius said.

"No, she actually asked me out! I am still in complete shock."

Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"You're lying."

"What!? I am not!"

"Yes, you are! Why would Lily ask you out?" James couldn't think of anything.

"Aha! I knew-"

"It's possible, Sirius." Remus said.

"Yeah, but-"

"Are you jealous?"

"NO! I just-"

"Then shut up!"

Sirius stopped.

"So, you're going to Hogsmeade?" Remus asked James.

"Yeah..."

"I'm bored." Sirius looked around the room, "There's nothing to do."

James, however, was perfectly content with just thinking about how the date would go.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Lily woke up and looked at her watch. It was 11:20.

"Shit!"

She jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom.

Tereesa peeked out of her bed hangings.

"Huh? What happened? What's the rush?"

"I have my date, you dolt."

Lily said while brushing her teeth.

Tereesa smiled sheepishly, "Oh yeah."

Clare rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom as well.

"It's a good thing Beth and Kate aren't here. Then the bathroom would be WAY too crowded." Clare said referring to their other roommates, Katherine Mitchell and Bethany Shafter.

Beth was a bossy, know-it-all, while Kate was a shy individual. They didn't mix well with Lily and Tereesa, who were outgoing and hyper.

Clare was a mix between Kate and Lily, which made her friends with both.

Beth didn't like any of them that much except for maybe Clare.

Clare was the kind of person who liked to be friends with everybody, while Tereesa and Lily liked to stay away from a selective group.

Beth's best friend was Courtney Peters, who was loud and selfish. They were inseparable.

Ally Anderson was Kate's best friend, which was ironic because Ally was much like Tereesa and Lily.

Ally had short, silky black hair and dark green eye.

Kate had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, with a kind-looking face, and Beth had dark blonde hair and light brown eyes with a pointed face.

"I miss Kate..." Clare said.

"Hey, you have us to hang out with!" Lily said.

"Yeah, that's why I miss her." Clare said, putting on a straight face.

"Hey, look, who am I?" Tereesa cleared her throat and put on a high-pitched voice.

"You guys, if you don't start picking up your clothes from the floor, I'm telling Professor McGonagall and you're all going to get detention!"

Lily laughed at Tereesa's accurate impression of Beth.

"Lily, you only have twenty minutes until your date, you should probably start getting changed." Clare said, glancing at her watch.

Lily's eyes widened.

She spit our the toothpaste in her mouth and ran out of the bathroom.

Clare laughed and shook her head.

#############

Finally, Lily was ready to go.

"Good luck!"

"Tell us all about it when you get back!"

Lily heard as she flew out the door and tumbled down the stairs.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and swayed a little bit before seeing the blurry figure of James coming towards her.

"Graceful." He remarked.

Lily laughed and lead him out of the portrait hole, knocking over a chair in the process.

###########

They reached Hogsmeade and headed for the Three Broomsticks.

"Have you been here before?" James asked when they sat down at the bar.

"Yeah, with Chris Matthews." Lily answered after ordering a butterbeer.

James looked around and saw a guy drinking a firewhiskey.

"Hey, do you think I could get away with ordering a Firewhiskey?" Lily laughed.

"I wouldn't risk it. Do you know what McGonagall would do to you?" James ignored her.

"I'm going to do it." He said and called for the bartender.

Rosmerta Hadly walked over to him from behind the bar.

James' jaw dropped.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" James asked.

"I work here. I'm the bartender." She answered while surveying Lily.

"Who is she?" Lily asked James.

"Oh, she lives near me. She used to come over to my house asking if she could have a pet gnome." Lily giggled.

"That was uncalled for." Rosmerta muttered.

She was very pretty. She had wavy blonde hair like Tereesa and bright blue eyes like Clare.

Lily stopped giggling and sipped her butterbeer.

"Have you gone to Hogwarts?" Lily asked Rosmerta.

"Yeah, I finished my seventh year last year. I was a Hufflepuff." Rosmerta answered.

"Cool..."

Rosmerta looked down the bar at a person who was asking for a drink.

"I have to go, nice talking to you, er..."

"Lily."

"Right, nice talking to you, Lily. It was nice seeing you again." Rosmerta said looking at James and left.

"So..." James started.

Lily swirled her straw around in her drink.

She didn't have butterflies in her stomach. She didn't feel anything special. She was actually rather bored.

"James?" she asked finally.

"Yeah?"

"You're nice and everything, which is why I think we should be friends. You know, just friends."

Lily said slowly. James nodded,

"Alright, I wasn't actually expecting anything more then that." He showed no signs of disappointment, but inside, he was burning up.

Lily's expression brightened. "Ok, cool! Hey, want to just walk around town? It's boring in here." She said.

"Yeah, let's do that." James said.

#################

"How did it go?"

"Did you guys kiss?"

"What did he say?"

"Where did you go?"

Questions were being thrown at Lily the second she walked through her dormitory door.

"We went to the Three Broomsticks, decided to be friends, walked around Hogsmeade, and came back here." Lily said, taking her jacket off.

Tereesa frowned and opened her mouth, but Clare covered it with her hand before Tereesa could say anything.

"Don't push her." Clare muttered in Tereesa's ear.

Lily didn't notice.

Tereesa glared at Clare.

"So..., you guys are just friends?" she asked.

"Yep!" Lily said cheerfully.

Tereesa didn't want to spoil Lily's good mood, so she didn't say anything.

#############

"So, how'd it go?" Sirius asked when James walked through the dormitory door.

"It was great! We decided to be friends, which is really awesome." James said.

"Don't you want to be...er...more then friends?" Sirius asked.

"Actually, believe it or not, I don't think I ever really liked Lily in a...er...girlfriend kind of way, I was just so tired of her being rude to me, I was willing to tell her anything." James said truthfully.

Remus raised his eyebrows, "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that was true."

"You see, Sirius?" Sirius shook his head, "I think that you two were meant to be together, whether you like it or not."  
  
A/N: Yep, that's it. I know, this chapter sucks, but the story will get better, mark my words (Muahahaha!) Well, please review, I need to know that I didn't write this for nothing ;) Look forward to seeing more chapters posted!


	6. Sickness and jealousy

Clare stretched her arms and yawned. Lily looked up at Clare from the book she was reading.

"Tired?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, a little bit. Let's go down and eat dinner before I fall asleep." Clare said and Lily nodded.

They walked to the doorway and Lily looked at Tereesa's bed.

"Are you coming?" Lily asked.

"I don't feel well, you guys go without me."

Lily looked concerned and Clare walked over to feel Tereesa's temperature. She put her soft hand on Tereesa's forehead and gasped.

"Terry, you're as cold as ice!" Clare whispered.

Lily rushed over to Tereesa and she too felt her temperature.

"Oh my! Take a nap, maybe when you wake up you'll feel better." Lily said reassuringly.

Tereesa smiled weakly, but her expression was pained.

"You guys must be starving, go to supper!" Tereesa said hoarsely.

Lily took one last concerned glance at Tereesa and left for the Great Hall.

Clare rushed into the bathroom and put a warm towel on Tereesa's forehead.

"Feel better, alright?" Clare said, but Tereesa was already fast asleep.

####  
  
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked Lily when she and Clare sat down across from him with salad spilling out of his mouth.

Remus looked at him with a disgusted expression on his face.

Sirius swallowed his salad, "Where Ter?" he asked.

"Lily looked nervously at Clare, "She's not feeling too well, so she decided not to come."

"Well, we will just have to cheer her up then." Sirius said and stood up.

"Sirius, I don't think Tereesa will want to be bothered, she needs her rest." Clare said gently.

Sirius ignored her and left the Great Hall.

Clare sighed.

"We should make sure Sirius doesn't do anything stupid." Remus said reasonably.

"Yeah, you're right." Lily said and stood up, but James gently pushed her back down, "Lils! You haven't eaten yet! We'll take care of Tereesa, but you two have to eat."

Lily smiled at James gratefully. She was starving.

Clare looked at James and hesitantly sat down next to Lily.

James smiled and left the Great Hall, leaving Lily and Clare to hope that Tereesa was feeling OK.

####

Lily put down her fork and belched. "That was a good meal." She remarked. 

Clare hadn't touched her food.

"Let's go see how Tereesa is doing." Clare said, and they both got up to leave.

At that second, the Great Hall doors flew open and revealed James and Remus, gasping for breath.

Lily and Clare rushed over to the two Marauders.

"Tereesa...hospital wing...NOW!" was all Remus could say, breathing heavily between words.

Lily understood and nodded at Remus before sprinting down the corridors towards the Hospital Wing with Clare at her heels.

Lily skidded to a halt when she saw Sirius pacing around the room, looking very serious.

Lily had never seen Sirius look like that before.

"Sirius, what happened?" Clare asked him.

He looked up at the two girls sadly.

He motioned for them to sit down.

Lily reluctantly sat down in a chair beside Clare.

Clare was wringing her hands, as she always did when she was nervous.

"We went to check up on Tereesa, and when we got there she was sleeping, so we just sat next to her bed, waiting for her to wake up. She finally woke up. She looked up at us and she looked...helpless..." Sirius trailed off.

"Sirius, what happened then?"

Sirius looked up at them, his eyes watering, but not exactly crying.

"She thanked us for coming, but then she ran into the bathroom and started puking. I went in there 'cause I was worried..." He breathed a shaky breath, "And she was collapsed on the floor. I felt her pulse, but she wasn't breathing. I thought she was dead, but I brought her here anyway. Madam Pomfry looked at her and said she wasn't dead. Them Pomfry took her into the back room, and here I am waiting to find out what happened." Sirius took another shaky breath.

Clare's eyes filled up with tears, but she blinked them back. Lily looked at the floor, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked into the face of Madam Pomfry.

"I suppose you want to know about Miss Fewent. This may come as a shock, but Tereesa has a rare disease. It causes you to lose body heat and vomit constantly, not to mention passing out some of the time."

Clare gasped, and Madam Pomfry continued, "It is usually fatal, but Miss Fewent still has a thirty percent chance of surviving."

Clare started crying and ran out of the Hospital wing to find someone to comfort her; Mainly Remus.

Lily followed suit.

####

Lily slowed down and didn't pay any attention to where she was heading and turned random corners.

She let her fingers drag along the wall while her sobs echoed in the corridor.

She leaned against the wall and slid down so she was sitting on the cold, stone ground.

'_Why Tereesa? She can't...how? Why? Not Tereesa! She hasn't done anything wrong! She doesn't deserve this! Why does she have to suffer? How could this happen?_'

Lily wasn't aware of how loud her sobs were.

"Lily! Don't cry. I hate seeing you like this!"

She saw a person in front of her and blinked away tears to clear her view.

"Oh, James!" she croaked and threw her arms around his neck.

"Lily, what happened?"

James asked while rubbing her back. She buried herself in his chest.

"She's going to die!" came Lily's muffled voice. "Oh..." James said quietly. "Lily, I'm so sorry."

####  
  
"Sirius, you're pacing again." Remus said from his bed.

He hated seeing Sirius ascting like this.

Sirius stopped walking around the room and sat on his bed, his face buried in his hands.

"She could live, you heard Pomfry." Remus said reassuringly, trying to get Sirius to calm down.

"Shut up!" Sirius snapped at Remus. Remus looked hurt, "I'm sorry, Rem, I just...this is really hard for me, you know-?" Sirius' voice was cracked.

The dormitory door creaked open and James walked in wearily.

"That girl has an ocean hidden behind her eyes." James said sleepily.

"Lily?"

"Yeah..."

Silence. S

irius finally shut his bed hanging and went into a restless sleep. James did the same, wondering what was going to happen to Tereesa. He hoped he would be able to sleep well.

####  
  
Lily and Clare didn't say anything to each other since Madam Pomfry told them the news. They had cried waterfalls and now they just sat on their beds, sniffing occasionally, staring at Tereesa's empty bed.

Eventually, they had drifted off into sleep, and their thoughts remained on Tereesa.

####  
  
Lily, Clare, and the Marauders didn't go to breakfast the next day. They just sat in the common room, staring into the fireplace.

"Want to go visit Tereesa?" Sirius asked hopefully,

"We tried; Pomfry said she's contagious and nobody can visit her."

"Oh..." Remus stood up, "I'm taking a nap." He stated and walked back into the dorm.

Eventually, everybody agreed that they would take a nap too, preparing for the next day; That was the day the other students returned to Hogwarts.

Sirius, James, and Remus weren't even remotely excited, even though that would mean getting to see Peter again. Lily and Clare didn't want to deal with Beth, Ally, Kate, or Courtney. They all just wanted to be alone.

They all were thinking the same thing; 'Might as well continue living my life.'  
  
()()()()()()() Two weeks later ()()()()()()()  
  
The Marauders and the gang were all laughing again, and were finally becoming themselves again.

Although, when they were bored, their thoughts drifted to Tereesa, who was transferred to St. Mungos.

They never brought the subject of her up, because they were all trying to do what Tereesa would have wanted them to do at a time like this: Continue living life like there's no tomorrow.

"When you're ready to stop inhaling your food, we can finish our History of Magic essay." Remus said, waiting impatiently for Sirius to stop filling his face with fruit tart.

"Shut up, Moony. We all know you just want to leave because you want time alone with Clare."

Everybody laughed except for Clare and Remus, who both blushed.

"Shut up." Remus muttered, pouring his pumpkin juice on Sirius' head.

Sirius shrugged and tasted the pumpkin juice on his face.

"You know, I always found this stuff rather bitter." He tipped the sugar bowl so that the contents fell in his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Ug! Sirius, that's nasty!" James remarked, watching Sirius chug his sugary juice in one gulp.

"Sirius, that's nasty!" Sirius repeated in a high-pitched voice. Peter laughed.

"I do _not_ sound like that!" James said defensively.

"Oh my god! I, like, totally do not sound like that!" Sirius mimicked James all the way out of the Great Hall.

"I'm going for a walk, anyone want to come?" Lily asked.

"I'll come with you." James said.

"Alright, let's go then." Lily said and walked onto the school grounds. She breathed in the fresh air.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Oouh! Let's go walk by the lake! It's very pretty there."

James chuckled and they walked over by the lake.

They walked in silence before Lily looked up and hid behind James.

"Ak!" she squealed, "Hide me!"

James looked confused, "Huh? What are you talking about, Lil?" James asked.

"It's Kyle Bolcher!" Lily whispered, cowering behind James.

James looked around and his eyes fell upon a brown- haired sixth year boy.

His expression darkened and he nervously patted his black hair down, only making it messier.

"Is he your new crush?" James asked in what he hoped was a casual voice.

"Yep!" Lily said happily.

James mocked Lily to cover up his jealousy, "Oh! Kissy, kissy, Lily and Bolcher!"

Lily stroked her chin thoughtfully, "I never thought I would share my first kiss with Pretty-boy Kyle."

James' jaw dropped,

"That would be your first kiss?" He asked, shocked.

"Well, unless you count Nathanial, Gregory, Zachary...." Lily counted off her fingers.

"Ok, no need to name them all!" James said hurriedly.

"I never knew you had so many boyfriends." James thought out loud.

"Well, Nathanial was the only one I had a real relationship with."

"What happened to you guys?"

"Well, we decided we didn't have romantic feelings for each other, and now we are just sticking to having a brother/sister relationship." Lily answered.

"Why are we even talking about my love life?" she asked him.

He shrugged and a grin spread across her face.

"You're jealous!"

"I am not!"

"James Potter, jealous! Who ever thought it was possible?"

"Lily, I told you, I am not jealous!"

"You are jealous!"

"Look, just drop it." Lily's smile faded when she saw the look on James' face. '_He really _was_ jealous!_'

--------------

A/N: Yep, yep, yep, I crammed a lot of things in this chapter, so it might be a little messily writting. Well, there's only one thing to do at a time like this? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	7. Leaf fight and trickery

A/N: Oh my goodness, thank you all so much for my reviews! I love you all! –huggles you- 16 reviews...that is awesome! Sorry I haven't updated for awhile, I have been busy for the 4th of July. Anyway, now I am PHYCED about writing these chapters. Ok, as much as you'll hate me for doing this, I'm going to write to the reviewers who reviewed chapter six:  
  
Snowbabyjoe: You won't have to worry about that ;)

Joelilmea: As you wish –updates-

Critic: As you wish –updates-

kk: Yes, I agree

Book Lover990 and Angul-gurl: Thank you for reviewing my work a lot, if it weren't for you, the six chapter would have been posted at the end of the month. Thank you!

**Yura-Yumi**: You have no idea how much your review meant to me. Thank you so much, you are yet another reason I'm keep on writing. Thank you so much. I never thought my story would be as good as you put it. I'm seriously speechless. Ok, I'll stop now, I'm blabbing. On with the story!  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
_'He really _was_ jealous!'_  
  
Lily was staring at James disbelievingly when someone cleared his throat in front of them.

Lily jumped a little.

"Oh, Kyle, you scared me!" Lily said, putting her hand to her heart.

"Hello, Belcher." James muttered.

"It's Boltcher." Kyle said and turned to Lily, "Could I talk to you privately?" Lily's eyes lit up, "Uh, sure!" she said and they walked off, leaving James standing by the lake, sorting out his thoughts.

###  
  
"You wanted to talk to me?" Lily said when she and Kyle sat down by a tree.

"Yeah," Kyle looked at his hands, "I was, er...wondering, if...um...you would maybe want to..."

Lily smiled, "Go to Hogsmeade with you next weekend?"

Kyle smiled and nodded.

"I would love to, Kyle!" Lily said and hugged him.

"Thanks," he said.

Lily looked back at James, feeling slightly guilty for leaving him alone by the lake, "Look, I should be going back to James, I said I would take a walk with him. I'll see you in classes, then?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, of course!" Kyle said, still smiling.

Lily stood up, "Bye, see you then!" Lily said and waved.

Kyle waved back and she ran to James.

###  
  
'_I am _not_ jealous. Lily was so stupid. Sometimes she can act just like very girl I've been out with. _What_? What am I saying? She's _very_ different from them. Annoying, but different_.'

James was absentmindedly throwing rocks in the lake.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when someone caught the rock he just threw.

Lily walked up to him and handed him the rock, "You know, you could hurt someone if you keep throwing rocks like that." She remarked and he snorted.

Lily fell into his arms, "Catch me before I faint." She said and he picked her up.

"Did Kyle ask you out?" James asked dully.

"How did you know?" Lily asked, poking James' cheek.

"Lucky guess." He replied.

Lily jumped out of his arms, "Look, I lost a friend to talk to about stuff like this, and then I gained one, I became your friend. The least you could do is be happy for me!" Lily said and pouted.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." James said quickly, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"I was only kidding." Lily said when she saw the guilty look on James face.

"Yea...so was I..." He said.

"That is the lamest excuse ever." Lily said, laughing.

"Are you calling me lame?" James asked, a grin appearing on his face.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, James Potter." Lily said.

"Oh yeah?" James asked.

"Yeah." Lily replied, giggling.

James bent down and picked up a pile of yellow and red leaves from the ground and threw them at Lily.

She shrieked and ran away from James, who had another pile of leaves in his arm.

She stopped and bent down to pick up a pile of leaves when James threw his pile at her.

"I'll get you, Potter!" She yelled and chased after him.

She threw the leaves at him and bent down to catch her breath when someone pushed her over.

She fell to the ground and her smile faded when she saw it wasn't James who pushed her.

"Beth? What was that for?" Lily said and looked up at Beth (her roommate) and Courtney (Beth's best friend).

"You were flirting with James, my man." Beth said.

"You guys are too possessive. Beside's, I wasn't flirting with him. He's my friend, we were just having fun." Lily said, becoming annoyed.

"Well, you can stop being 'friends' with him, or else you'll have to deal with us." Courtney said, obviously trying to sound intimidating.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Typical slut." She muttered.

James jogged up to them hair full of leaves, "What's going on?" he asked, catching his breath.

Beth extended her hand towards Lily, "Evans fell down. She's very clumsy, if you ask me. We were just helping her get up." Beth said and James smiled, "Ok, cool." He said.

Lily smacked Beth's hand away and stood up.

She had to keep an effort to hide her evil grin as she thought of a plan.

"Oh, James! Look at you, you're covered in leaves!" Lily said in a false girly voice.

James smiled sheepishly and tried picking the leaves out of his hair.

"Oh, here, let me help you." Lily said and stood in front of him.

She ran her hand through his hair and looked over her shoulder at Beth and Courtney.

Her plan was working perfectly.

They looked at her with faces mixed with shock and jealousy.

Lily turned back at James and stood closer to him. "Sorry about this. Beth was lying, she pushed me over, I didn't fall. I'm just trying to-" James nodded slightly and bent down to kiss her.

Lily's eyes widened but then she understood, 'He's just going along with the plan.'

She convinced herself that it was all just acting and deepened the kiss.

They were both too occupied to notice that Beth and Courtney had already stomped off.

Lily forced herself to break away from James to see the look on the two snobs faces.

She was disappointed to see they left, but she couldn't ignore the feeling in her stomach.

She felt butterflies in her stomach, which she had never felt before.

She turned to face James and backed away slightly.

"Sorry," she said quietly, "I was just trying to make them jealous. That was some good acting, though..." She laughed. '_Yeah, just acting_.' James thought to himself.

Lily cleared her throat. "I should be doing my Transfiguration homework now."

James wiped his mouth nervously with the back of his hand, as if to remove lipstick. But there wasn't any. '_Lily's lips are naturally that color?!_' he thought to himself.

"So, I'm going to go now." Lily continued, "Thanks, for, uh...going along with the plan." Lily said.

"Yeah." James replied.

"We got them good, huh?" Lily said, a grin spreading across her face.

Suddenly her eyes widened with fear, "Kyle!" she whispered frantically.

"What? Where?" James said, looking over his shoulder.

"No, no, he's not here." Lily said, taking a step back from James.

"What if he saw us?" she asked, worried.

James was disappointed. _'Of course. Kyle. Why does he have to exist_?'

Lily mistook James' jealous expression for a worried one.

"It's ok, maybe he didn't see! If he did, I'll just explain to him me and you have no romantic feelings for each other, and that it was simply a joke we pulled. I mean, since you pull pranks all the time, it shouldn't be too hard to believe..." Lily said to James, rubbing his arm reassuringly.

"I should go find Sirius. Maybe we can pull another funny prank today. What fun." James said in a falsely happy voice.

He walked away quickly.

"James, wait!" Lily said and ran up to him.

He turned towards her, hoping that she would say that she didn't want him to leave, or that she felt that she liked him more then just a friend.

Of course, what she said was nothing of the sort.

"Promise me you won't torment anybody." She requested, her face serious.

"This is Snivellus we're talking about!" James said but looked at her stony face.

"I promise." He muttered.

"Thank you, James!" Lily said and pecked him on the cheek, before running inside the castle.

James rubbed his cheek, grinning like an idiot.

A/N: Yup yup yup, I know it's short. I can't help it! Yeah, I didn't feel like writing a longer chapter, so... well, please review!


	8. The Visit

A/N: Wow! I only got two reveiws for chapter seven and I updated it two days ago! Absolutly amazing XD  
  
Snowbabyjoe: Ak! Please don't hurt me! Book lover990: Yet another reveiw, thanks :D Chapter Eight  
  
Lily sat through History of Magic, thinking of Tereesa. She tried to think of happier things, but everything came back to Tereesa.

She heard the bell ring, but ignored it.

Clare was about to tap her on the shoulder, when Lily sprang up from her chair causing it to flip over.

Lily grabbed her bag and flew out of the room towards Dumbledore's office. She had a brilliant idea.  
  
Lily ran down the corridors, bumping into people's shoulders, and skidding across the stone floors.

When she reached the gargoyle statue, she came to a halt.

'Damn it! What's the password?'

Lily guessed the password for five minutes and eventually sat on the ground and kept guessing.

"Miss Evans? Aren't you late for class?" Professor Ives, the herbology professor, asked from behind her.

Lily stood up so quickly she made herself dizzy, causing her to fall down again.

"Miss Evans?" Ives repeated, a little worried.

Lily stumbled up, "I'm fine professor. Could you tell me the password? This is urgent." Lily asked, staring at Ives' blurry figure.

Ives muttered the password and the gargoyle sprang to life.

Lily quickly thanked the professor and pushed open the doors.

She looked around the room and her eyes widened. She couldn't even begin describing how many facinating things were in the room.

"Miss Evans?" Lily looked up and saw Dumbledore walking down a staircase.

"Professor! I need to ask you something important." Lily said and the old man gestured her to sit down in front of her desk.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, Professor. I was just wondering if me and a few friends could visit Tereesa...er...today." Lily asked anxiously.

Dumbledore gave Lily a searching stare.

"Who are you planning on bringing with you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Clare Traiker, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter...and perhaps Peter Pettigrew as well." Lily said.

"I'm affraid I can only allow you to bring two people at the most."

Lily looked disappointed.

"Yes, sir. When can we leave?"

"You may see Professor McGonagall with the two people you wish to bring after classes. Tell her I said that she should bring you to St. Mungos for a short visit. I assume she'll know what to do afterwords."

Lily couldn't have been happier, "Thank you, Professor." She said and hurried off to find Clare and tell her the good news.  
  
"I talked to Dumbledore and he said that me and two friends can visit Tereesa today!" Lily said excitedly.

Clare jumped with joy.

"Who else will you bring?" Clare asked.

"Bring where?"

Lily and Clare turned around you see Sirius.

Lily's face lit up, "Sirius! Would you like to see Tereesa today with me and Clare?"

Sirius looked at Lily, "Seriously? Lily, that would be great! When are we leaving?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"I'm going to talk to McGonagall now." Lily said and she rushed off.

Lily, Sirius, and Clare stood behind McGonagall in the line to talk to the receptionist.

McGonagall moved forward to the front of the line, "Excuse me, me and my students are here to see a patiant, Tereesa Fewint."

"Magical Bugs, second floor, wing four. Next!" The blonde receptionist replied in a bored tone.

"Come on, then." McGonagall said the three students and they followed her to the second floor.

When the four reached Tereesa's room, they saw a sign that said 'Healer-in-charge: Doris Cherrymotyf, Trainee Healer: Winslow Toffer'.

Lily was first inside and directly in front of her was Tereesa, stuffing her face in chocolate frogs her friends sent her.

Tereesa looked up at the visitors and she dropped the small box she was holding.

She swallowed and wiped her mouth. "Lily! Clare! Sirius! Oh, hi, Professor." Tereesa said and Lily ran over to hug Tereesa.

"How have you been?" Lily asked, pulling up a chair.

Tereesa shrugged, "Well, the food here tastes disgusting, and these clothes they make the patiants wear," Tereesa plucked at her polka-dotted nightgown, "are absolutly hidious!"

Everybody laughed.

"I meant your health." Lily said, smiling.

"It totally sucks having this disease, ("Miss Fewint!" "Sorry, Professor.) but the Doris healer said she would let me out tomorrow."

Everybody grinned, "Tereesa, that's wonderful!" Clare said and hugged Tereesa.

"What, don't I get a hug?" Sirius asked, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, come hear." Tereesa said and they hugged.

"Sirius, your crushing me!" Tereesa said in a muffled voice.

Sirius pulled away, slightly blushing.

"Yeah, the nurse also said I would only live six more weeks." Tereesa said casually.

Clare gasped, Lily looked like she was about to cry, and Sirius' jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!" Lily yelled.

Tereesa winced, "Lily, quiet down. Look, everybody has to die sooner or later! Calm down, I'm going to die peacefully. I'm just glad I can spend the rest of my life with the people I love most."

Tereesa said and offered them all jellybeans.

Clare and Lily were crying now.

Sirius looked shocked.

"You are the most amazing girl..." his voice cracked and he rubbed his eyes.

"This better not be some sick joke!" Lily sobbed.

She was hugging Tereesa.

"I don't want you to go, you mean everything to me!" Lily sobbed.

"I don't want you all to be like this! You guys can be so...predictable! I want you all to live life and go to the extreme! I don't want you all to be ordinary. I saw something different about you guys, that's why I wanted to be friends with you! Lily, you are the most outgoing person I know. You are carefree and always cheerful, that's what I love about you! Clare, you are lovin and caring, you believe in second chances. And Sirius, you...you..."

tears started rolling down Tereesa's cheek and she sniffed before coninuing.

"You are so...indescribable. You are energetic, and romantic, and...you...Sirius, I don't know what to say."

Tereesa wiped her eyes with her blanket.

"Damnit, guys! Now your making _me_ cry!"

Tereesa sniffed again.

"Look, let's just act like everything is normal, and that I'm just going to be on a long vacation. After I...you know...I want you to forget about me and move on."

McGonagall sniffed from behind them,

"You all should say goodbye to Tereesa now, we have to leave."

McGonagall wiped her eyes with her hankercheif.

"We'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Lily whispered to Tereesa and walked out of the room, letting tears fall down her face freely.

"I promise to do what you told me to. I'll never forget you." Clare whispered and followed Lily.

McGonagall turned to Sirius, "Mr. Black?"

"One minute, Professor." Sirius replied and sat in Lily's abandoned chair.

"You are truly amazing. For once in my life, I fell in love. And look what happens." Sirius almost sounded angry.

"Goodbye, Tereesa." Sirius said and left, leaving Tereesa to cry, alone.

-----------------  
  
A/N: Don't be mad at my corniness. I'm sorry, this is sort of a cliffie, but I will update the next chapter ASAP!


	9. Tereesa's first day back

A/N: Aw, Jenna! Thank you so much!  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Lily stared at her reflection in the lake.

Tereesa would be coming back to Hogwarts today, and would be arriving soon.

Lily had always imagined that Tereesa, Clare, and she would live together in an apartment. They all planned on being journalists, so they thought they could go work at the same place, too. The trio had already planned out their future, and Tereesa dieing certainly wasn't on the list.

Lily felt a wet tear slide down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

Ever since she set foot on the Hogwarts Express, she and Tereesa had been best friends.  
  
_"Need help with that?" A voice behind Lily asked. _

_Lily turned around and faced a blonde girl with warm, brown eyes. _

_"That would be great, thanks. I just packed so many book, my turnk became heavy..." Lily said and the girl grabbed onto one side of Lily's trunk. _

_"I'm Tereesa Fewint, by the way." the girl said as they walked into an empty compartment. _

_"Lily Evans." Lily said. _

_"It's been a pleasure." Tereesa said and turned to leave. _

_"Oh, you can stay in here if you want. I don't have any friends yet, so it's not really reserved." Lily said. _

_Tereesa smiled, "You have me as your friend! Let me just get my trunk, I left it back there." Tereesa said and motioned outside the compartment. _

_Lily smiled and looked out the window. _

_'Wow,' Lily thought to herself, 'my very first friend!'_  
  
Lily smacked the water with her hand and looked away.  
  
"Lils!" someone shouted from across the school grounds.

Lily looked up and saw Tereesa running towards her.

"Hi Tereesa." Lily said, her voice cracking.

She forced a smile.

Tereesa frowned.

"You sound excited to see me. Do you know what happens to people who are boring?" Tereesa asked.

"No, and I don't want to find out." Lily replied.

Tereesa shrugged, "Too bad." Tereesa said and pushed Lily in the lake.

Lily swam to the surface and looked at Tereesa.

"Tereesa!" she shreiked but Tereesa was already running as fast as er legs could carry her.

Tereesa knew full well that Lily was the fastest runner at Hogwarts.

Lily jumped out of the water and chased after Tereesa, laughing all the way.

Lily finally caught up with her best friend and tackled her.

"Say your sorry." Lily said and sat on Tereesa.

"Lily! You're getting me all wet!" Tereesa protested and tried pushing Lily off her.

"I won't get off until you say you're sorry." Lily stated simply.

"Fine! I'm sorry." Tereesa said and Lily got off.

Lily helped Tereesa up but Tereesa was soon tackled by Sirius.

"Ahhh! Sirius!" Tereesa screamed.

James, Remus, and Clare walked beside Lily and watched Tereesa and Sirius tackle each other.

"It's so romantic!" Lily said and wiped away and imaginary tear. James and Remus laughed appreciativly.

"Those two were meant for each other."

That day's Herbology class was the best Herbology class of the year.

Lily got paired with Sirius, Clare with Ally (Kate's best friend), James with a Hufflepuff named Roger Herring, and Remus and Tereesa were paired together.

Lily and Sirius were particularly hyper.

"Sirius, your not supposed to touch that!" Lily said and giggled as Sirius poked the plant they were supposed to be growing. The plant Sirius prodded exploded and Lily and Sirius burst out laughing.

"Did you see that?" Lily asked Sirius, her arm around his shoulder for support. "That was awesome!" Sirius exclaimed and poked it again.

The rest of the lesson went like this, and Lily and Sirius emerged from the greenhouse still havig laughing fits.

"Remember when you poked it the fifth time?" Lily asked loudly. "Yeah, and then it sort of growled at me!" Sirius said and cluched his stomach from laughing so hard.

Remus and Clare rolled their eyes, while James and Tereesa exchanged looks. Peter just dragged behind them, almost being invisable.

Sirius and Lily finally calmed own, but now it was Tereesa that was boucing off the walls in the common room.

"Hey! Can anybody stick their tongue out and touch their nose?" Tereesa asked excitedly.

Tereesa stuck out her tongue and used her index finger to touch her nose.

"Get it?" Tereesa asked and rolled on the floor, lauging.

"Tereesa, you already showed us that three times before. WE GET IT!" Lily said and Tereesa stopped laughing.

"I'm hungry." Sirius said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah! Let's go to the kitchens! Let's eat CHOCOLATE!" Tereesa shouted and jumped up and down.

"Oh no." Remus said.

"Here we go again." James said tiredly.

"You know, I'm not that hungry." Lily said.

"Me neither." James said quickly.

"Fine then, poopers. We'll go without you. Right Remus?" Sirius stared at Remus.

Remus sighed and followed resentfully.

"Clare?"

"I'm not that Hun-"

"CLARE?" Sirius repeated, louder.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Clare said and followed Remus.

Sirius cleared his throat loudly.

Peter took the hint and scurried off after the group.

"So." James said and sat down on a couch.

"So." Lily repeated and sat down next to him.

"How's Kyle?" James asked, sounding more bitter then he intended.

Lily's expression turned dreamy.

"He's great. He didn't see us...er...yoo know, but I told him anyway, in case he found out. He was great about it. He said that Beth and Courtney are bitches and that they deserved what they got." Lily said.

She looked like she was ready to make a whole speech about Kyle.

"Right." James said quickly. "I think I'm going to take a nap before Transfiguration." James said and stood up.

"No! Please stay with me!" Lily begged him.

"I can't Lily, I'll just fall asleep on you." James said and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Then so be it." Lily said and pat the couch next to her.

"What?"

"I SAID, SO BE IT!" Lily shouted in his ear.

"Yeah, yeah..." James muttered and sat back down.

Did Lily just say she wanted James to fall asleep on her?

'No! She just wants you to stay with her.' James convinsed himself.

"I _will_ sleep on you, I wasn't joking." James said uncertainly.

"I don't mind if you sleep on me, James. Friends wouldn't mind." Lily said tiredly.

James grinned. He put his head on her lap and looked up at her angelically.

Lily didn't seem to notice.

James was delighted.

Normally, Lily would have pushed James off her.

Did this mean something?

James fell asleep soon and Lily found herself tired. She rested her head on her hand and as stoking James' hair absentmindedly.

If people didn't know Lily and James well, they would have thought the two good friends were a couple.

A/N: Do you like it? Review please!


	10. What's she so happy about?

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated for awhile, I'm going to try and add chapters to all three of my stories. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
The next night, Lily, Clare, and Tereesa were all laying down on the floors, forming a three-pointed-star sort of shape with their heads touching, looking at the ceiling.

They always made this pose when they were all extremely bored.  
  
"So, what's going on with you and Remus?" Tereesa asked Clare.

"He was just a simple crush. I've moved on to Dave from Hufflepuff. He is so kind!" Clare said dreamily.

"He's that Seeker, isn't he?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, he's pretty good at it." Clare remarked.

"Not as good as James." Tereesa said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Lily said bluntly.

Tereesa smiled, "Sticking up for your man, I see. How sweet."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"James and I are just friends. Anyway, you'll never guess who asked me out, Tereesa."

Tereesa sat up, with a look of interest on her face.

"Who?"

"Kyle Boltcher." Clare replied dully and examined her cuticles.

"Oh." Tereesa replied and lay down again.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade with him tomorrow. He is so perfect. He's undertanding, sweet, cute, charming, wonderful..."

Tereesa cleared her throat loudly.

Tereesa knew Lily more then Lily thought. Tereesa knew that Lily liked James, Lily just didn't know that she liked him yet.

Lily went into a sort of daze while she was thinking of Kyle.

"I'm going to bed." Tereesa said and climbed into her bed.

"Me too." Clare said and yawned.

Lily sighed sat on her bed. 'Kyle is so great...'

James walked into his dorm that night, dropped his bag on the floor, and plopped on his bed exhaustidly.

Sirius cleared his throat.

"Where were you last night?" He asked James.

James smiled at himself as he remembered falling asleep on Lily's lap.

"I fell asleep in the common room." James said honestly, still laying on his back.

Sirius shrugged and turned to Remus.

"The full moon is tomorrow." he remarked quietly.

James shot up.

"It is?" He asked.

"Yeah...you guys will be there, won't you?" he asked hopefully.

"Aren't we always there?" Sirius said, grinning.

Remus gave a small smile and heaved a sigh.  
  
###  
  
Lily was making her bed, singing as she did so. She had a great singing voice (After all, she practised A LOT when taking showers -wink-)

"Shut up!" Beth screamed at Lily and covered her ears with her pillow.

Kate was already up and brushing her hair.

Lily walked behind Kate.

"May I?" Lily asked Kate.

Kate nodded and handed Lily the brush.

Lily flipped her hair over her should and started brushing Kate's hair.

"You have beautiful hair, Kate." Lily remarked and hummed while brushing Kate's hair.

"Why are you so happy?" Kate asked and smiled at the mirror she was sitting in front of.

"I have a date with Kyle today." Lily said and put the brush down.

Lily started braiding Kate's hair.

"Will you let me put make-up on you today?" Lily asked Kate.

Tereesa and Lily always wanted to give Kate a makeover. She would be so pretty if she would just remove her hair from the messy bun and put on a few finishing touches. She already was pretty, but jewlery and a new hairstyle could make such a difference. Kate always refused to let them change her sppearence, but today, she didn't want to spoil Lily's good mood.

"Sure, Lily. Just...be careful..." Kate said.

Lily clapped her hands excitedly and started aplying make-up.

Tereesa dragged herself into the bathroom and slammed the door, causing Beth to scream in frustration.

Beth stomped around the room muttering things like "I'm changing rooms tomorrow."

Lily kept singing though.

Clare climbed out of bed and attempted to calm Beth down while Lily gave Kate pretty blue earring to put in.

"Viola!" Lily said and looked at Kate.

"You might want to dodge Sirius today, because he'll be drooling over you like a dog." Lily remarked and Kate blushed.

"Time for me to get ready!" Lily said happily and skipped over to the bathroom.

She opened the door and kicked (literally kicked) Tereesa out of the bathroom.

Lily finished brushing her teeth and started combing her knotted hair. She threw her brush down in frustration.

"I need a haircut." Lily said grumpily.

"Clare!" Lily yelled.

Clare was known to be a very good hairdresser.

Clare rolled her eyes and joined Lily in the bathroom.

"How short?" was Clare's automatic question.

"Hm..." Lily pointed to a place about two inches down from her shoulder.

"_That_ short?" Clare asked in surprise.

"Yeah, and can you make it layered?" Lily asked.

Clare nodded and grabbed some scissors.

"Are you sure?" Clare asked and Lily nodded. Clare cut off a good seven inches of hair when she was finished.

Lily examined herself in the mirror when Clare said she was done.

"Thanks Clare!" Lily said and walked out as if Clare had only just handed her a peice of candy.

Clare shook her head and waved her wand and all the hair that was cut off disappeared, leaving the room looking like it had before Lily got her haircut.

Clare placed her scissors down and decided that Lily's very straight and very dark red hair went well with the layored cut she had given her.

Lily put on some tight but comfortable jeans on and a light yellow tank top. Lily applied her make-up and looked at herself in the mirror. Although Lily thought she looked boring, she looked stunning. Who wouldn't fall for her?

Lily put her wallet (she hated purses) in her pocket and walked out, saying good-bye to all her friends.

Remus' jaw dropped when he saw Lily coming down the stairs.

James looked curiously at Remus and followed Remus' gaze when his jaw dropped as well.

'Lily looks even prettier with the way she cut her hair.' James thought as he looked at her.

James glanced at Sirius, who was looking stupidly at Lily.

"Oy! Lily! Come 'ere!" Sirius yelled and waved his arms.

Lily looked over at the Marauders and smiled.

She walked over to them and Sirius looked her up and down.

"You know, there's something different about you, but I can't tell what." Sirius said and scratched his head thoughtfully.

Lily rolled her eyes and waved her hair in his face.

"Wait a second! You cut your hair, didn't you?" Sirius said, proud he figured out the answer.

Lily rolled her eyes again.

"No shit, Sherlock. It only took you five minutes to figure it out this time." Lily said sarcastically.

James, Remus, and Peter laughed.

Lily smiled brightly and hummed as she sat down beside Sirius.

"What are you so happy about?" James asked.

"I have my first date with Kyle today!" she said excitedly.

James' expression darkened.

"Congradulations." he muttered, and Remus looked at him worridly.

"Thanks. I should probably be going, I'm going to meet him in the Great Hall. I'm starving." Lily said.

"Tell him we said hi." Sirius said.

Lily nodded and skipped to the portrait hole, still humming.

"She looks quite pretty today." Sirius remarked and stood up. "I'm hungry, too. Let's go eat." Sirius said and dragged the other three out of the portrait hole.

James was hoping to see Lily in front of them, but all he saw was a bit of red hair whip around the corner towards the Great Hall.

James sighed and Remus looked at him again.

"You've got it bad." Remus said.

"What?" James snapped.

"Nevermind." Remus muttered and walked slightly ahead of them.  
  
###  
  
"Hi Lily! I like your hair cut." Kyle said when Lily walked up to him.

"Why, thank you!" Lily said and flipped her hair dramatically.

"Shall we go to Hogsmeade after breakfast?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, that would be great." Hyle replied and smiled.

"Ok, see you then." Lily replied and kissed him on the cheek, right after James walked through the Great Hall doors.

The second James walked in the Great Hall doors, he spotted Lily kissing Kyle.

James felt his cheeks burn as Lily made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat next to a girl named Susie.

Lily launched into conversation the second she sat down and James just watched her talking happily about what she planned on doing at Hogsmeade.

James glared at Kyle as he sat down at the Hufflepuff table and talked just as happily as Lily was.

Sirius lead James to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Lily.

"Probably sleeping in late." Lily replied and shrugged.

James sat there staring at his plate.

"Hello!" Ally (Kate's best friend) said cheerfully and sat down across from Sirius, and Kate sat next to Ally.

"Hi Ally!" Lily said brightly.

"What's she so happy about?" Ally asked Sirius.

"Why do people keep asking that? Is it not normal for me to be happy?" Lily asked. Sirius ignored her.

"She's going on a date with Kyle today." Sirius informed Ally.

"Ah." Ally replied and snatched Sirius' toast, taking a bite out of it.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled.

Ally shrugged and took another bite of his toast, before giving it back to him. Sirius looked at the bite marks and handed the toast back to Ally.

"Nevermind, you can have it." He said and grabbed a fresh piece of toast from a basket on the table.

"Did you miss us?" Tereesa asked from behind Ally, who she sat next to. Clare sat next to Tereesa.

"Hello." Lily said.

"I have to go. I'll see you all around later." Lily said brightly and exited the Great Hall.

Tereesa and Clare waved at Lily's retreating back before returning to their food. Just as Sirius was about to bite his new toast, Tereesa snatched it from him and took a bite.

"Why is everyone eating my toast?!" Sirius yelled as he snatched his toast back. This time he ignore the bite mark and just stuffed the whole piece in his mouth.

Tereesa grinned.

The Marauders, Clare, and Tereesa decided they would roam around Hogsmeade together for the rest of the day.

First, they went to buy ice cream. Tereesa complained that the person who worked at the ice cream parlor gave her the wrong flavor, so she dumped it on Sirius' head. Sirius chased her around the villiage, before catching up with her, picking her up, and throwing her in a trash barrol. Tereesa laughed so hard she fell over in the trash, getting it all over her. Sirius said he would take her back to Hogwarts to get her cleaned up.

Clare spotted Dave from Ravenclaw, and told the Marauders that shewould be busy for the rest of the day before hurrying off to flirt with Dave.

That just left the remaining three Marauders.

James was having a pretty good time in Honeydukes and forgot about Lily and Kyle. Until he saw them.

They were looking at the Levitating lollipops.

James felt like someone had just ripped his heart in half.

He remembered the time he picked Lily up because she couldn't reach the lollipops.

Kyle grabbed a few from the high shelf and handed them to Lily. She thanked him and they walked over to the counter to purchase them.

James watched their every move, and when they left Honeydukes, he followed.

He left Remus to deal with Peter by himself.

Lily and Kyle entered the Three Broomsticks holding hands. James gritted his teeth and followed. He just realized how suspicious it would seem if he entered the bar without the other Marauders or a date.

So he did something very stupid.

He walked up to the first girl he saw, which was, unfortunatly, Beth.

"Beth?" James said.

Beth turned around to face James and her eyes widened.

"Wanna get a drink with me?" he asked her.

Her eyes widened even more and she nodded enthusiastically.

"OK, great." James said and she followed him to the bar, were Lily and Kyle were sitting, having a conversation.

James walked up to Lily and Kyle, but they didn't seem to notice him.

"Well, my friend, Clare, you know her, right?" Lily asked Kyle.

"Yeah, we talked once in Charms."

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, she was like..."

James cleared his throat. Lily and Kyle turned to face him.

"Oh, hi James! You know Kyle." Lily said and motioned at Kyle.

"Yeah, we might have met once or twice before." James replied bitterly.

"You did a really good job in the last Quidditch match." Kyle complimented.

"Thanks." James muttered.

"And you a talented Chaser!" Lily said to Kyle.

"So are you!" Kyle said to Lily.

James cleared his throat again.

"I'm just getting drinks for me and my date." James said, motioning towards Beth, who was standing next to him.

"Oh, a date! Congrats, James! I don't want to be rude, but Kyle and I are done with our drinks, and we were planning on going to Zonko's next. Maybe we'll see eachother again soon?" Lily asked.

"Yeah." James replied quietly.

Lily didn't seem disappointed at all the James had a date. She didn't even care that it was Beth. Lily and Kyle got up and left the bar.

"James, are you going to get our drinks?" Beth asked uncertaintly.

"Oh! Sorry, Beth." James appologized and ordered two butterbeers.  
  
A/N: Wow! That was a long chapter! Suggestions for future chapters are welcome -cough cough wink wink-


	11. The Kitchens

bA/N: I don't know if I said this already, but thank you Jenna for your awesome reveiw!  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
"C'mon, Pete, let's go find the prat who deserted us." Remus said and dragged Peter away from the sweets in Honeydukes. The first place Remus thought to look for James was the three broomsticks.  
  
Remus and Peter walked into the shop and Remus looked around. "Tell me if you see Prongs." Remus told Peter, and Peter helped Remus look in the crowded resturaunt. "Oh, there he is!" Peter said and pointed over to the bar. When Remus looked over, he saw a very bored looking James and a talkative Beth.  
  
Remus walked over to James and tapped him on the shoulder. James looked at Remus and pretended to be having the time of his life with Beth. "Hey Moony, this is Beth, my date." James said and pointed to Beth. Beth just kept talking. "She's very interesting." James said and pretended to listen to her.  
  
"James, could I talk to you?" Remus asked. "Beth? I'm going to talk to Remus for a second, I'll be right back." James said and Beth nodded while taking a sip of her butterbeer. James followed Remus to an empty table in the Resteraunt.  
  
"So?" James asked Remus when they sat down. "What are you doing with Beth?" Remus asked. "I'm having a drink with her." James answered. "No, you misunderstood me. I mean, why are you going out with people who you don't even remotely like, much less love?"

"I do like Beth!" "No, you like Lily. You love Lily! What are you doing?" Remus repeated. "I don't like Lily anymore, I'm over her. I like Beth, okay?" James lied and stood up. "You're lying." Remus said. "You don't know that." James said and walked away. Remus couldn't have been more disappointed in James.

The Hogsmeade trip was finally over and Lily found herself sitting next to a tree by the lake, reading her favorite book. "Lily?" someone asked. Lily looked up to see Remus' concerned face. "Remus? Is everything okay?" Lily asked and closed her book. "Lily, I need to talk to you." Remus said. "What happened?" Lily asked worridly and Remus sat down next to her. He ran a hand through his sandy colored hair. "Lily, I think you should stop dating Kyle." Lily's concerned face vanished and an angry one came on.  
  
"Why? You have no right to tell me that! He is kind and funny and..." Remus held up his hand. "You're right, I'm sorry. But..." Remus couldn't tell Lily that James still had feelings for her if he didn't want anyone to know. "Ok, James has a crush on this girl, but she doen't know that. So he started dating another girl to make the first girl jealous." Lily nodded at Remus to continue. "Right, but his stupid plan isn't working, and recently, she started dating another guy." Remus said.  
  
Lily put on a sympathetic look, "That must be so hard for him." Lily said sadly. Remus' jaw dropped. Was she really that stupid to not figure it out? "Ok, well, everything is just a big mess and he doesn't have a clue what to do." Remus concluded. Lily put her book in her bag. "I think that James should tell the girl he likes that he has feelings for her." Lily said and stood up. "Why are you asking me about this? Shouldn't James be asking?" Lily asked. Remus stood up too. "He's to stupid to know his plan isn't working." He replied simply. Lily nodded and walked in the castle.  
  
Remus clutched his stomach; it was nearing the full moon."James! Pete! Hurry UP!" Sirius said. Remus was lying on his bed and James and Peter were tying their shoes quickly to leave for the Shreiking Shack. James finished and nudged Peter to hurry up. When Peter was finished, James, Sirius, and Peter walked out to the Forbidden Forest and Remus walked to the Hospital Wing.  
  
"Ready, Mr. Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey asked Remus when he walked through the door. Remus nodded and together, they walked out to the Womping Willow. Remus took a long stick and prodded the knot on the tree. He crawled through the tunnel and Madam Pomfrey walked back to the castle. When the other three Marauders made sure that Madam Pomfrey left, they followed Remus in their animal forms.  
  
"I have to go patrol the halls, I'll see you guys later!" Clare said and stood up from the couch. Tereesa and Lily looked up and waved goodbye to Clare. "I'm glad I'm not a prefect. Too many damn responsibilities." Lily muttered and turned a page in her book. "How many times have you read that?" Tereesa asked. "This is my eleventh time." Lily answered, not looking up from her book. Tereesa rolled her eyes, "You are such a nerd." Tereesa said and looked into the fireplace. "I resent that." Lily said half- heartidly.  
  
"How was your date with Kyle?" Tereesa asked. "Are you going to let me read at all today?" Lily said, her mouth forming into a smile. Tereesa shrugged and Lily put her book on the table. "It went perfect. James was on a date too, although he didn't seem so happy." Lily said. Tereesa looked surprised. "Really? Who with?"  
  
"Oh, with Beth." Lily said casually. Suddenly, her eyes widened with realasation. "Oh my lord! James is going out with Beth!" Lily said. "And you didn't realize that until now?" Tereesa asked. "I was so wrapped up with Kyle, I didn't even stop to think about James!" Lily said worridly. "You have to talk some sense into him." Tereesa said and picked up Lily's book. "You're right. How could I be so stupid?" Lily said and flew out the portrait holeJames, Sirius, and Peter watched as Remus transformed from a normal teenage boy to a bloodthirsty demon. Peter's tail twitched and he covered his eyes with his small paws. James and Sirius were up and ready to stop Remus if he did anything stupid. The werewolf that stood in front of them glanced at the three animals and then looked at his surroundings. He clawed at the walls, willing to be free. Remus gave up and started scratching his own arms. Sirius jumped up and barked loudly and James used his antlers to get in the way of the werewolf's teeth and arm.  
  
Unfortunatly, Remus flung the two animals aside and let out a painful bark- like shreik. He was growing more and more fierce and his clawed at the walls more frantically now. He let out a loud howl and Peter whimpered into the shadows.Lily had been searching for James for twenty minutes and was beginning to get frantic. She decided to look on the Hogwarts ground for the third time. She walked outside and realized it was raining but she didn't care. She squinted her eyes and saw a big clump in the distance she started running towards it and as she neared it, she saw that the clump was really four people. She ran closer still and saw the familiar faces of the Marauders.  
  
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Sirius asked, his voice frightened. "I should be asking you the same thing!" Lily replied. "We...uh..." Peter began but Lily cut him off. "I have been looking everywhere for you! You have no idea how scared I was! Thank god you're all right!" Lily said and hugged them. "You sound like my mother." James muttered. Lily saw that James and Sirius were helping Remus stand. "Remus? Are you ok?" Lily asked. She stepped closer to him and gasped.  
  
"Remus! You look aweful! Are you feeling alright? You should go to the Hospital Wing right now!" Lily exclaimed and felt Remus' forehead. "Get inside! The rain will just make us all sick! Remus, what happened to you?" Lily asked and looked at Remus' ghostly features. Remus didn't answer. Lily was becoming very worried. "James, what happened to him?" Lily asked in what sounded like a whisper. The group reached the castle and walked into the warm halls. James looked at the other Marauders before answering.  
  
"We were playing Quidditch, and Remus got a cold. Colds have a rather...harsh effect on Remus." James lied. James looked at Lily and realized she was crying. "You're lying." she said and sniffed. "Please, tell me what happened! I want to help!" Lily pleaded. James looked longingly at his friends. He wanted to tell Lily the truth, but he would be risking too much. "I can't tell you Lily, I'm sorry." James said sincerely. Lily looked hurt. She vowed to herself that she would find out on her own.  
  
Remus looked at the floor and let a tear escape from his eye. This was one of the many consiquences of being a werewolf. "I'm sorry, Lily." Remus whispered. Lily was really starting to worry about them. "Just please tell me why this happened!" Lily pleaded. Sirius shook his head. "Lily, just forget about it." Sirius said in a stern face.  
  
Lily looked desperatly at Peter. He just looked at the floor. James watched Lily as she looked at each of the Marauders for answers. James hated seeing Lily with tears falling down her soft cheeks and her expression was helpless. James reached out to touch her should comfortly, but she wrenched it away and gave him a cold glare.  
  
"I thought you guys could trust me." Lily said softly. She turned her heel and walked away, ignoring James and Sirius' attempts to call her back. Remus lifted his head and watched Lily turn the corner and felt a pang of guilt. Life was definatly not easy for the werewolf.Clare turned the corner at the same time Lily did and they hit eachother and fell to the ground. Clare scrambled up and held out a hand to Lily. "Here, let me help you up. Sorry for bumping into you. I wasn't watching." Clare said kindly and expected Lily to grab hold of her hand and pull herself up. Instead, Lily ignored the helping hand and she brushed passed Clare.  
  
Clare looked at Lily, clearly confused. "Lily, you should head back to the Common Room, it's after hours!" Clare called to Lily's back. Lily ignored Clare and walked up to the Prefects bathroom. Being friends with Prefect Clare had it's advantages. "Crystal Clear" Lily muttered and walked in the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and walked to the pool-sized bathtub.  
  
Lily went here when she needed to clear her thoughts and calm down. She turned a couple of faucets until the tub was filled before removing her clothes and sliding in. The water was warm and bubbly. Lily closed her eyes and tried to figure out what could have happened. 'They could have entered the forest and gotten hurt. That sounds like something they would do.' Lily thought to herself. Lily opened her eyes and glanced around the bathroom. She sighed to herself and stepped out of the warm water.  
  
She wrapped a large fuzzy towel around her and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and her hair was half wet and half dry. She wasn't in her best state. Lily sighed again and quickly got dressed. The shuffling noises she made with her feet echoed around the large bathroom.  
  
Lily leaned again the door with her ear pressed against the crack. She couldn't hear anything, so she quietly opened the door and looked down to see Mr. Gruff, the caretakers cat. Lily closed her eyes and counted to ten silently before opening them again to the the old cat disappearing down the hall. This only meant one thing; The goddamn cat went to alert the caretaker.  
  
Lily ran down the hall as fast as she could to the Common Room. Suddenly, Lily ran into something, causing her to be knocked down for the second time that day. "Not again." Lily muttered and rubbed her head. When she looked up, she didn't see anything. She looked around but nothing was in sight. She slowly got to her feet. She could sense something was watching her.  
  
"Lily?" A voice whispered. Lily whipped around but saw nothing. "Who-who's there?" Lily asked, trying to sound brave. Then James and Sirius appeared in front of her. Lily's eyes widened. "How did you to that?" she demanded. James put a hand over her mouth. "Shh! Filch will hear us." James whispered.  
  
Lily removed James' hand. "Filch! He's after me! Please help me, if I get caught, McGonagall will sever my head off using my own wand!" Lily said frantically. James grinned and held up some silvery material. Lily gasped. "Is that a-" "Invisabilty cloak? Yeah, it is." James answered before she could finish her question. Lily looked releived, but still a bit puzzled. Sirius chuckled and took the cloak from James. "Look, Lily. If you want to escape, you'll have to go with us." he said. Lily nodded and Sirius draped the cloak over the three teenagers.  
  
Lily had to squeeze between James and Sirius so that nothing would show beneath the cloak. "Where are we going?" Lily asked quietly. "We're getting a snack." James answered. "How did you get the cloak?" Lily said in the same queit voice. James grinned, "I have my resources." he answered. Lily decided not to pry further.  
  
"Why weren't you in the common room?" Sirius asked suspiciously. "I was taking a bath." Lily asnwered and blushed faintly. "You were taking a bath? Even I don't get out of the common room just to take a bath." Sirius said. Lily opened her mouth to reply but Sirius covered it with his hand. Lily instantly new why.  
  
"Where are they? Where is the student who's out late?" The three students heard Filch and froze. They saw him turn the corner so he was facing them. James, Lily, and Sirius backed away quietly. Filch examined the 'empty' hall and walked past the teenagers. When Filch was out of earshot, James let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.  
  
Lily bit Sirius' hand hard, which was still cupped around her mouth, causing him to yelp in pain. Lily grinned evily as she watched Sirius nursing his hand. James rolled his eyes. "Come on." he said and lead them to a potrait of a bowl of fruit. Lily immediatly knew why they were there and she reached out and tickled the pear. James and Sirius watched in awe as she turned the doornob and entered the kitchens.  
  
"How did you know about that?" Sirius demanded as he followed Lily to a small table. "Oh please, I'm not a _complete_ idiot. Tereesa, Clare and I know quite a lot about Hogwarts secrets." Lily said and winked at the two Marauders. "Twinkle!" Lily called and about ten house-elves came rushing to the table. Lily looked at the one in front. "Hello, Twinkle. We would like pork-chops, mashed potatoes, spinach, squash, pumpkin juice, and a vegetable salad please." Lily said and turned to the boys again.  
  
They were accepting pudding from the house-elve. Lily took out her wand. "_Accio pudding_." Lily said and dropped her wand while catching a little bowl of chocolate pudding in each hand. She gave the pudding back to the house-elves and picked up her wand. "What was that for?" Sirius demanded. "You'll ruin your appetite and you won't have room for a real dinner if you eat desert first." Lily explained while a bunch of house-elves rushed over to the table and served the students thier dinner.  
  
"Sorry,_ mother_." Sirius muttered. Lily ignored him and piled food onto her plate and started eating very fast. James and Sirius were amazed. They turned to their own plates and started eating as well. When James finished, he looked up and saw Lily getting a second helping that was just as big as the first and started shoveling the food in her mouth. Sirius was doing the same thing. "Who are you and what have you done with Lily?" James asked Lily as he stared at her while she ate.  
  
She swallowed and gulped down her full glass up pumpkin juice in less then six seconds. She looked at James. "I eat fast, so what?" she said and started eating again. "Yeah, but how do you stay so..._small_ when you eat so..._much_?" James asked. She looked up and him again and swallowed. "Fast matabolisom." she answered and poured herself more pupmkin juice. Next to James, Sirius belched loudly to show that he finished eating. Lily did the same thing at the same time. Sirius narrowed his eyes at Lily.  
  
"I challenge you to a competition. Who ever eats their pudding the fastest gets five galleons from the loser." Sirius said. Lily grinned, "You're on." she said and snapped her fingers. A bowl of pudding appeared in front of Lily and Sirius. James looked at them amusedly. "On three. One...two..._THREE!"_ James said and Lily and Sirius picked up their spoons. Lily put her spoon back down, picked up her bowl, and tipped it so the pudding would fall in her mouth. Lily was soon finished. "Lily wins!" James yelled and Sirius looked at Lily, who was licking her fingers angelically.  
  
"Cheater." Sirius muttered as he dropped his spoon in his bowl. "Not cheating, technique." Lily said and held out her hand. Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets while muttering and pulled out three galleons. He placed the money in Lily's hand and she took it gratefully. "Thank you, Sirius." Lily said and kissed him on the cheek in a sisterly way while saying '_Mwah_!'. James laughed as Lily jingled her pockets to show Sirius how much money she had. He crossed his arms stubbornly. "Aw, is Sirius having a _hissy fit_?" Lily asked and pinched his cheek. "Shut up." Sirius muttered and Lily and James chuckled.  
  
A/N: I like this chapter. It really shows some bonding between Lily, James, and Sirius. I hope you liked it. Please review! I won't update until I get at least five reviews on this chapter! 


	12. Lily's Odd Confession

A/N: Yay! Look at all the reviews! I love you all, you're all just too kind. I'm really sorry I havn't updated in awhile, but I'm performing a play TODAY and I have been rehearsing like crazy the last few weeks. Wish me luck!

Chapter Twelve

Lily, James and Sirius laughed all the way to the common room while telling funny stories. "Well, this first year came up to me and was like, 'Are you Lily Evans? I saw you in the Quidditch match last week, and you were great! Could you sign my robes?', and he was serious!" Lily said and bent over from laughing.

"I get that all the time," Sirius said proudly. "Except they only want my autograph cause I'm extremely good looking." Sirius said and tossed his hair around. Lily chuckled and James looked disgusted. "Never do that again." James said. Sirius laughed.

Lily looked at the two boys and watched as they joked around and their eyes lit up. _'They must really care for eachother.'_ Lily thought.

"Lily? Anybody in there?" Lily realized Sirius was waving his hand in front of her face. "Sorry, I was just spacing out." Lily muttered.

She looked out the window and saw a full moon disappearing in the suns light. _A full moon_. Lily's eyes widened in realazation. _Every month, Remus leaves to take care of his mother, or is sick. Every month. Every full moon._ Lily looked at Sirius and James in disbelief. They looked very confused.

Lily grabbed onto James and Sirius' arms firmly and dragged them into an empty classroom. "Lily, what's going on...?" Lily gave Sirius and James a searching look. _How could they have been with Remus? Humans can't go near them. How? Unless...yes, that's probably it. They must have. James and Sirius are so good at Transfiguration, that it must be the answer_.

"Lily?" James looked a little worried. Lily rubbed her head. "Why didn't you tell me Remus was a werewolf?" she asked. Sirius and James exchanged dumbfounded glances. "Remus isn't a-" Sirius began but Lily cut him off, "Oh please, Sirius, I'm not and idiot. And I think that you two and Peter transfigured yourselves as animals or something so you could join Remus." Lily said proudly.

"Yeah...that's it, we...uh, transfigured ourselve into animals. You caught us Lily, you sneaky girl." James said nervously. Lily narrowed her eyes. _Obviously, James is lying. What could it be? The only other way of becoming animals is if you're an animagus. But they couldn't possibly be animagi. Could they?_

Sirius kicked James for lying so terribly and watched as Lily tried figuring things out. Finally, she looked up at the two boys. "So... you two are animagi?" she asked casually. James and Sirius knew lying wouldn't help, so they nodded. "And I'm guessing you aren't registered?" she said. They nodded again. "Wow. You guys risked going to Azkaban just to make the full moon for Remus more bearable. That is extreme loyalty." Lily said, obviously impressed.

"So...so you won't tell?" James asked nervously. "Of course not! What kind of a prat do you bloody take me for?" she asked. James and Sirius looked relieved. "Thanks, Lils. We owe you." Sirius said. "Well, at least show me your animal forms!" Lily insisted. Sirius and James grinned at eachother and Lily watched as they turned into animals. Sirius, a shaggy black dog, and James, a beautiful stag. Lily gasped and reached out to scratch Sirius' ears. Then she went to stroked James' back. James snuggled with Lily and Lily giggled. She turned back to the dog which was now grinning. Lily laughed at Sirius and immediatly wished she was an animagi.

The two boys changed back into humans. Their grins disappeared when they looked at Lily's sad face. "Lily? What's wrong?" Sirius asked her. Lily shook her head. "Let's go back to the common room." Lily said and turned to leave. James grabbed her arm, "Lily, is everything okay?" James asked. "Everything is fine." was Lily's reply.

Now, James and Sirius have had plenty experiance with women to know that 'Everything is fine' mean that the woman is either extremely mad at you, or terribly sad. It's funny how the female mind works, isn't it?

"Lily, we all know that something's wrong. Please tell us about it." James said quietly. Being the expert that he is, James knows exactly how to deal with situations like this. Lily looked into his chocolaty brown eyes. "Well...alright. Your gonna think this sounds stupid, but...sometimes I wish I could hide where nobody can find me. It's not because I'm mad at people, it's just that I need a calm place to relax and think about things where nothing can interupt my thoughts. Sometimes I become so desperate, I'd do anything for just a moment alone. At times like these, I'd brew a potion, and when a drank it, I became a mermaid."

Lily said and took a deep breath. She looked at James and Sirius' confused faces. The two boys wanted to laugh, thinking Lily was joking.

But she continued, "Don't you see? Being underwater is so peaceful. I almost became addicted, so I would start disappearing more and more often. Tereesa noticed, and she set out to find me. Eventually, she found out about my secret and made me stop drinking the potion." Lily sighed.

"But, couldn't you just use gillyweed instead of making a really complicated potion?" James asked. "It isn't the same. You would only have an hour underwater, where as with the potion, you would become human again as soon as you left the water."

"But...what does this have to do with us being animagi?" Sirius asked.

"Don't you get it? Being and animagus is the perfect way to be alone. Nobody would know it was you! You could just walk around the school grounds, and no one would come and bother you. I'm sorry, this is really stupid. Let's go." Lily said and turned to leave once more. "Lily, if you ever want to be alone, just tell us. I have the perfect solution." James said.

Lily looked at James questionaly. "The Room of Requirement." Jame said. Lily sighed again, "Oh, that old place? That's the first place Clare and Tereesa go to look for me when I'm gone." Lily said. "You know about the Room of Requirement?" James asked in disbelief. "Haven't I already told you? Clare, Tereesa, and I know a lot of Hogwarts' secrets." Lily said and winked.

"Let's go." James muttered, clearly discouraged. Lily shrugged and followed. Sirius decided to take a shortcut so he could alert Remus about their discussion.

* * *

"So...she knows? What did she say?" Remus asked nervously. "She was perfectly fine with it. I don't know why we didn't tell her before. Anyways, that girll is full of surprises. Did you know she knew about the Room of Requirement?" Sirius asked and sat down on the couch.

Just then, James and Lily came bursting into the Common Room, laughing uncontrollably. "Are you two drunk?" Sirius asked them as they stumbled over next to him. "Nah. James said the funniest thing! Tell Sirius what you said, James!" Lily insisted.

Tereesa burst out of her dormatory and ran over to Lily. "LILY EVANS! DON'T YOU EVER, AND I REPEAT, EVER SNEAK INTO THE KITCHENS WITHOUT ME, UNDERSTAND? I COULD HAVE BEEN HUNGREY TOO, DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT? DID YOU EVER STOP AND WONDER ABOUT POOR LITTLE TEREESA...?" Tereesa put her hands on her knees and breathed deeply.

"How did you know I was in the kitchens?" Lily asked slyly. Tereesa glanced at Remus and Sirius. "Were you eavesdropping on us?" Sirius asked, slightly amused. Remus paled.

"Er..." Tereesa looked at her hands and looked at Remus. "I won't tell about your secret, Remus, I promise!" Tereesa said, feeling guilty. Remus didn't look convinsed. Remus looked at Sirius and then at the floor. "Remus, I don't care. In fact, I feel bad that you have to go through that. Please forgive me for listening to your conversation." Tereesa said quietly and walked over to hug him. Lily hugged Remus too.

James and Sirius looked at eachother and shook their heads rapidly, "I think we'll just stay here." Sirius said. "Aw, c'mon guys, group hug!" Lily said and stretched an arm out towards Sirius and James. The two boys backed away and cleared their throats. Tereesa rolled her eyes and broke away from Lily and Remus.

Remus gave a small smile towards the two girls and and sat down, rubbing his head. Lily sat down next to Remus, as did Tereesa.

The five of them talked for awhile before heading off to bed. Lily knew that Remus would have rather let the news of him being a werewolf kept a secret, but Lily was glad she knew why Remus looked so horrible that night. She sighed and rolled over.

As soon as she drifted off, she felt Clare shaking her awake. "Clare! It's still one in the morning! Why did you wake-?" Tap tap tap. Lily looked at where the tapping noise was coming from and saw an owl waiting by the window, tapping it's beak against the glass. Lily moaned and grabbed her wand. "Lumos." Lily said and walked over to the window. She read the little piece of parchment:

**Lily- Meet us by the revolting statue of the old hag by 1:00 o'clock. -The Marauders**

Lily raised an eyebrow and yawned. Then her eyes widened. "I have to go now." Lily complained. "Why?" Clare asked and drank a glass of water. "James and his crew of morons want me to meet them at the statue of the one-eyed witch. Right now." Lily said and grabbed a bathrobe. "C'ya in a bit." Lily said to Clare and closed the door quietly.

She walked out in the halls and drew her robe tighter around her. She shivered and rubbed her arms while she walked down the halls. When she finally reached the statue, she noticed the Marauders weren't there yet. Lily mumbled to herself about how she hated it when people were late and sat down onto the floor. She blew in her hands and rubbed them together, trying to keep warm.

Suddenly, Remus and Sirius' grinning head appeared in mid-air. Then the rest of their bodies appeared as they dropped their invisability cloak. "You have got to stop doing that." Lily muttered and stood up. "Where are James and Peter?" Lily asked through blue lips. James and Peter stepped out from behind the statue with two sweaters on each.

"It's cold out tonight." Sirius remarked as he pulled his hood up over his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Could you please tell me why I had to get out of my warm bed to meet you here?" Lily asked bitterly and rubbed her cheeks. Sirius continued grinning and pulled out his wand. He pointed it towards Lily, muttered a spell, and she instantly felt warmer. The other three Marauders pulled out their wands and performed the spells on themselves.

Lily tapped her foot impaciently. "I'm leaving if you don't get to the point soon." Lily warned. Suddenly they heard footsteps in corridor. "Filch!" Sirius whispered and covered himself and Remus with the cloak. James and Peter dived back behind the statue and Lily stood frozen on the spot. She looked like a deer in headlights.

"Lily?" A girl muttered. Lily relaxed. She recognized that voice; Ally. "Ally, you scared us!" Lily said. "Us?" Ally asked and came into veiw. "Yeah, me and the Marauders." Lily answered. Ally pushed her short black hair out of her face. "What are you doing up so late?" Ally asked and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I don't know, why don't you ask the idiots over there?" Lily said rudly and gestured to her left. "Where? I don't see anyone." Ally said.

Lily could have sworn she heard a stifled laugh under the cloak. Lily shoved to her left and hit Remus and Sirius. The two boys were caught by surprise and they fell over while the cloak uncovered them. Ally's eyes widened. "Wow! How did you do that?" She asked. Lily picked up the cloak, showed it to Ally, and thrust it back at Sirius. "Tell me why I'm here, you dolt." Lily demanded Sirius.

"Somebody's a little cranky. Who's bed did you wake up on?" Sirius asked amusidly. Lily gasped for a minute before tackling Sirius. "Take that back, you slimy git!" Lily said while pulling Sirius' hair. "Fine! I take it back!" Sirius said sounding terrified. Ally giggled, and James and Peter stepped out from their hiding spot to see Lily beating Sirius up. "Wow, Sirius, she's kicking your arse!" Peter said excitedly.

Sirius eventually got hold of the uncontrollable Lily and pinned her down. "Let go of me!" Lily said and Sirius let go of her, only because he was rolling around laughing. Lily kicked his side, but not painfully. Sirius didn't stop laughing and Lily stood up. Her hair was a mess, but nobody said anything. Lily straightened up her robes and looked at James. "For the last time, why am I here?" Lily asked through clenched teeth.

Sirius finally stopped laughing, "Hey, where did Ally go?" Sirius asked curiously. Everybody looked around. Suddenly, Sirius felt someone kick his side. Ally's head emerged in mid-air. "I love this thing!" Ally said and took the rest of the cloak off. Sirius moaned and rolled on his side painfully. "Get up, you wimp." Ally said playfully. Sirius glared at Ally.

Lily's eye twitched. "WHEN IS SOMEONE GOING TO TELL ME WHY I'M HERE?" She yelled as loud as she could. James ran behind her and covered her mouth with his hands. Lily bit his hand, but he didn't uncover her mouth. "Follow me." Remus said quietly. "Dissendium." He muttered and pointed his wand toward the statue. An opening appeared and he slipped in it. "Are you sure this is safe?" Ally asked nervously.

"Nobody invited you to come, so feel free to leave." Sirius said quietly and followed Remus through the opening. Ally huffed and quickly followed Sirius. James turned towards Lily. "Your turn." He said. She nodded and slipped through the opening. James quickly followed. Peter reluctantly tried. He got stuck.

Peter could hear James and Sirius groan. Then he could feel them pulling at his feet. "I'm stuck! I can't fit!" He squealed. "Shut up!" Sirius said. Peter could hear Ally and Lily giggling. Finally, the two boys got Peter to fit through the hole and Peter fell on James and Sirius, causing them to knock over the two girls, who pulled Remus down with them.

"Ug, Sirius, get off me!" Ally said and tried to push him off. "I can't! Peter's on top of me!" Sirius muttered painfully. James pushed Peter and the fat boy rolled off from the people-pile and James and Sirius jumped up. The two girls rolled over and revealed Remus, who was hugging his knees to his chest. "Alright there?" Sirius asked and held out a hand to the werewolf. "Yeah, I'm good." Lily said and took Sirius' hand. "I was talking to Remus." Sirius said, but still helped the redhead up.

Lily helped Ally up, who helped Remus up. Lily looked around. She couldn't see farther than three feet. "Where's my wand?" Lily asked and frantically searched for it on the ground. Ally picked it up and handed it to Lily. Lily sighed with relief and muttered "Lumos!". The light revealed a long, empty hallway.

"What does this lead to?" Lily asked to no one in particular. "To heavan, my friend. This leads to heavan." Sirius said and licked his lips. He ran down the corridor and out of sight. "This doesn't lead to a stripper place, does it?" Lily asked James. "What's that?" He asked curiously. Lily laughed and ran down the hallway.

"LAST ONE THERE HAS TO KISS PETER!" She yelled over her shoulder. James and Remus looked at eachother and quickly ran after Lily. Ally looked at Peter. "Disgusting." she muttered and sprinted after the two boys.

A/N Was this chapter good? Bad? Tell me what you think! Give suggestions, tips, complment, criticise, ANYTHING! Just review!


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